Middle School (Grades 6-8)

Middle School: English, Italian, Spanish

Language in the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program (IB-MYP) speaks volumes!  There are three languages developed in La Scuola middle school - English, Italian, and Spanish.  While the primary language of instruction in middle school is in English, students engage daily in their Language 2 (either Italian or Spanish) and twice weekly in their Language 3 (either Spanish or Italian). Additionally some actively visual and hands-on middle years subjects - Design and Arte - may be learned in Italian.  

IB-MYP Language acquisition spans five phases, from introductory to advanced. Advanced Italian or Spanish students participate in Language & Literature inquiry, with an emphasis on text analysis. For example, identifying and commenting upon significant aspects of texts and author’s choices or identifying similarities and differences in features within and between texts, and producing text.  

The experiential education program at La Scuola is founded on the idea that early adolescence presents great opportunities for the significant personal and social development of all students. In each year of middle school the class engages in an extended travel-learning experience that presents each student with developmentally-appropriate physical, social, and cultural challenges.

Our trips are closely connected to our program of inquiry and with environmental science and social studies. They also foster a sense of community, love of nature, independence and international mindedness.

Grade 6 and 7 - Backpacking Trip to the California Sierras

Our Grade 6 and 7 students have the opportunity to enjoy a 5-day backpacking trip in the California Sierras. Serving as a wonderful time to bring their learning outdoors, experiment with different ways of viewing the natural environment and how their studies in science, art, humanities, and beyond all play an important part in the environment in which we live. Appreciating beauty is a primary part of the La Scuola curriculum, and there is no better way to do that than sleeping under the stars and spending the week exploring the backcountry just outside of San Francisco.

Yosemite serves as a stunning landscape for our recent 6th grade trips - a place where what they have learned across subjects can come to life. An example of this is the study of fire ecology in their Humanities courses. In Yosemite, they can study the causes and effects of fire on the environment by seeing first-hand and speaking with experts in the field. It goes without saying, but the joy and focus on beauty at La Scuola is certainly a perfect fit for a gorgeous location like Yosemite.

 

Grade 7 - Residential Service Learning Project

Grade 7 engages in a residential community engagement and service learning project (which is preparatory for the IB-MYP Community Project) that meets the needs of underserved populations in San Francisco. This past year students worked in the food pantry at The Women's Building in the heart of the Mission District. 

The Women's Building is a local nonprofit organization focused on serving and empowering members of the Mission community. Their food pantry provides food for hundreds of families every week; it is an important source of healthy fruits and vegetables in the middle of a food desert. The work is impactful to both our students and local community members, as it gives them an opportunity to interact face to face with local residents, organizations, and community.. 

This regular service work inspired a math project in which students applied their mathematical learning of statistics and data analysis with their community engagement work in the pantry, analyzing data on food distribution, along with the demographics of the pantry's participants.  The students then presented their findings, offering insights and suggestions to improve the pantry's effectiveness. The feedback from the Women's Building staff was incredibly positive.

By combining academic pursuits with community engagement, we are preparing our students for thoughtful and impactful citizenship in their lives beyond La Scuola.

 

Grade 8 - Italy Trip

Grade 8 engages in a two-week travel-study to Italy where students engage in intercultural and language immersion, alpine adventure, and service within a global context.The Italy trip represents a coming together of the three pillars of a La Scuola education: Learning as Action with the International Baccalaureate, the diversity of expression embedded in the Reggio Emilia Approach, and a fully immersive linguistic experience. Travel and activities are centered around integrating theoretical knowledge and skills into real-world contexts and applications.

In this culminating trip abroad, our soon-to-be graduates bring the academic learning that they have experienced throughout the Middle Years Program into broader historical, cultural, and political contexts.

 

Welcome to the exhilarating world of La Scuola Athletics, where our middle school students embark on a transformative journey that fosters growth, instills pride, and ignites enthusiasm among all members of our community. Here at La Scuola, athletics are not just serious, they are also incredibly fun. It's a realm where skill, intelligence, passion, and most importantly, heart, converge. Our student athletes participate because they genuinely love their respective sports, deeply value their teammates, and take immense pride in representing something far greater than themselves. 80% of our middle school students actively participate in at least one of our athletic programs, signifying the vibrant engagement and enthusiasm that courses through our athletic community.

La Scuola Athletics is a powerful force that nurtures a spirit of healthy competition, unwavering commitment, exemplary leadership, and true sportsmanship, regardless of the outcome. It cherishes and celebrates cultural diversity while promoting gender equity, ensuring that every individual feels welcome and valued.

For the academic year, we offer team sports for the Fall, Winter, and Spring seasons.  Other possible league options include Tennis, Table Tennis, and Indoor Soccer.

• Fall: Volleyball and Performance Training
• Winter: Basketball and Performance Training
• Spring: Track and Field and Performance Training

Student-athletes represent La Scuola in the San Francisco International Athletic League (SFIAL), competing against our neighboring independent schools.

Introducing our La Scuola International School Mascot:  I LUPI:

 

Our technology mission at La Scuola states: “La Scuola empowers students to not only learn about technology, but also through technology, developing conceptual understandings and contributing to a prolific learning community within and outside the school, to eventually become conscious digital citizens.”

The beauty of being in a Reggio Emilia Approach environment is that the teachers and the students are free to learn and explore new languages every day.

From PreK onwards, the students learn and love coding and when they come to the Mission Campus, they start using robots in class.  They are immediately attracted and interested in the program, because they see they can control the action of a small device.  As the students grow in years, the more the challenges grow in interest.

What happens when we start applying the coding concepts that we first used with the robots on the computer? How can we build a videogame? How can we create a website? Those are constant questions that our students ask and discover, enabling them to learn responsibility and respect in the digital world.

Technology is surely a very important and fascinating language to use, and one of the main challenges that we adults have to teach is the amount of time we spend on digital devices. Especially after the COVID remote teaching period, students tend to use their device in a more independent way. For this reason, here at La Scuola we always try to implement technology in our daily school life and connect it with other languages in class. We always remind the students that technology is just a tool and we need to enjoy our life outside the digital world.

Being able to connect in person and spend some time with our friends and our community is always the most important choice we can make in our life.

Technology in the Curriculum

• Computer Science / Programming / Code.org / Scratch
• One-to-One Chromebook Program
• Robotics
• Digital Atelier / Digital Media / Design Atelier

Design is the subject in which the Middle School students learn the concept of Design thinking. Every project we do follows the design cycle, which is divided into 4 phases.

Phase “Inquiring and Analyzing”

This is the moment in which we delve into the challenge. What is it? Why do we have it? Who is involved? Where is it? Is this part of just a group of people or is it a general problem that everyone can encounter in their lives? Inquiry and Analyzing is a phase full of questions and wonder.

Phase “Developing Ideas”

During this phase we start to think through various solutions to the challenge. Usually each student arrives at one or two personal solutions.  And, once the solutions are discussed in a classroom setting, it is incredibly rewarding how they interconnect with those of our peers, and may even change. During this phase, there is a great deal of collaboration and active listening.

Phase “Creating the Solution”

Once we finish brainstorming our solutions, a final decision needs to be made. This is the moment when one solution is selected, taking into account many interrelated factors.

Phase “Evaluating”

This is the moment in which the final solution is applied, and the consequences are evaluated.

A unique feature of this Design Cycle is that there is no starting or finishing point. These phases can be mixed in the process and the fact that it is not a straight line, but a circle, makes everything more interesting and creative for the students and the teachers.

This year the Middle School students are using the Design Cycle on various projects:

• Producing, scripting, filming, editing, and finalizing four videos that promote the school on various topics.
• Organizing the winter concert, put on by the school.
• Creating displays around a theme for the La Scuola Exhibition.

Thanks to the Design Cycle, students are the protagonists of their learning process and they learn how failure can be a learning moment. Students learn how to overcome emotions and find different solutions. Students become independent in finding new and creative ways to solve problems.

 

Fresh fruit or vegetable served each day!

We partner with 54 Mint restaurant and catering to provide organic, whenever possible, locally-sourced daily lunches to our students, faculty and staff. Vegetarian, dairy-free and gluten-free options are available.