The Shorecrest Middle School intentionally spans fifth - eighth grades. This structure gives students a four-year window for the cultivation of important skills such as organization, independence and autonomy. Each grade level has a rigorous curriculum that includes Project Based Learning. This provides in-depth explorations of the concepts learned in class.
The Middle School years mark a crucial period of growth for students, where academic curiosity intertwines with significant social and emotional development. This combination gives us an opportunity to challenge our students with a vigorous, student-centered curriculum.
Students have a plethora of choices throughout Middle School in arts, academics and athletics, and co-curricular activities.
- They select class electives such as Entrepreneurial Design Institute, art, music, drama and debate.
- They have the opportunity to choose various projects for events like National History Day, Drop Everything and STEAM Week, and many other cross-curricular exercises.
- A robust physical education and athletics program prepares students for future athletic pursuits.
- Clubs are also offered, such as Model UN, Band, Jr. Thespians, Forensics, FIRST® LEGO® League Robotics and more.
Middle School students are supported through an advisory program called Circle of Power and Respect (CPR). Each morning the students start their day with a small advisory group that bolsters their social and emotional development. The CPR experience is continued through grade-level field experiences. The eighth grade travels to Washington, D.C. for an amazing four-day trip to our nation’s Capital. This allows for a more hands-on experience of American History and current events. The seventh grade spends three days in St. Augustine, Florida, studying early American History and its ties to our state. Fifth and sixth grade students share local team-building activities.
Parents and guardians also play a crucial role in supporting their child's journey through these transformative years. Together, we create an environment where students thrive academically, socially, and personally, preparing them for success beyond Middle School.
Quick Facts
- Average class size of 14
- Signature programs including Drop Everything & STEAM Week; Ross Roeder Institute for Financial Literacy, Entrepreneurship & Economics; award-winning visual and performing arts, student travel opportunities and more
- Chargers Athletics - students may participate in interscholastic sports with Shorecrest Chargers Athletics beginning in 6th grade
- 1:1 iPad Program
- Partnership with The Social Institute, a systemic approach to student well-being, social media, and technology use through a gamified online learning platform
- Access to the schoolwide Center for Academic Excellence & Student Well-Being, including a dedicated Middle School Counselor and a Middle School Learning Specialist
General Information
5th - 8th Grade: ~290 students
Middle School Hours: 8am-3:15pm, Middle School After Hours available until 5:30pm
Middle School Subjects
Math, science, social studies, English, Spanish, French, language fundamentals, art, drama, music, entrepreneurship, technology and physical education/health.
Program Hallmarks
- An advisory program provides every student with a faculty advisor who becomes their point person for academic, social and emotional issues.
- Interdisciplinary, grade-level teaching teams provide stimulating and integrated areas of study.
- Wide slate of on-site co-curricular activities.
- Spaces for robotics, visual arts including a patio with a kiln, music and drama rooms, science labs, classrooms, Makerspace, Library, an outdoor classroom, pavilion, dining room, athletic gyms and fields, and more.
- Students are respected for their differences, and encouraged to explore new activities in a welcoming environment.
Early adolescence is a period of great change and opportunity. We recognize that at this age your child may have a unique need for greater independence while still requiring support and nurturing. This is one of the reasons why fifth grade is a part of the Middle School at Shorecrest. While many students begin Middle School in sixth grade and have little time to transition to the structure of a new school, our students have a year of “Middle School on training wheels,” as our teaching team is known to say.
Fifth grade students gain freedoms and responsibilities, like lockers, more lunchtime menu options, and the use of an iPad as required course material. Students are introduced and supported through each change incrementally, allowing for comfort in the familiarity and excitement in their own growth. Our nurturing fifth grade faculty understands the transitions students are going through developmentally and work together to ease students into Middle School so they are ready to hit the ground running in sixth grade.
Some fifth graders at Shorecrest take part in Forensics / Debate club, FIRST LEGO League Robotics, band, after school clubs and intramural sports, and the annual Battle of the Books.
Personal growth is nurtured through Middle School advisories. Each student is assigned an Advisor, a teacher who functions as a “homeroom” mentor for a small group of students. Advisors might address overall academic progress, social concerns and absences. Strong advisors are problem solvers and advice givers.
Advisory groups meet every morning for the Circle of Power and Respect (CPR). In CPR, students build social skills, get to know each other better, play games, and work together while discussing topics that are important to them. CPR also allows students to do what they most want and need to do: connect with their peers. Prepared activities during CPR focus on empathy, impulse control, building community and problem solving. Strong advisories promote open communication.
Advisories meet again for a Study Hall period when students can work on homework and classwork, ask teachers questions about assignments, and Advisors can check in with students.
All Advisors and students at Shorecrest Middle School are supported by a school Counselor.
From daily morning meetings to the language teachers use with their students, what’s best for students is at the heart of each student-teacher interaction at Shorecrest.
Project-based learning is an in-depth study or investigation of a topic or theme that allows students to follow their questions and to learn about a given topic of interest. Through these projects, students learn how to learn, how to make sense of what they are learning, how to apply what they learned, and how to share or teach from a place of authority about what they have learned. Projects are typically interdisciplinary, meaning they aren’t confined to simply one subject area.
Sample Project
Seventh graders designed escape rooms for their peers to solve using themes from original mystery stories they wrote in English class. Small groups cooperated to devise clues and build the props they needed in the makerspace. While some broke out of the rooms and others didn’t, students enjoyed the process of writing, collaborating, building, and having fun that they created themselves.
The Entrepreneurial Design Institute (EDI) is a signature Middle School elective at Shorecrest in which students address community needs through entrepreneurial thinking.
After students identify problems/issues in their community, they harness the power of design thinking, idea generation, ideation and action to develop a unique solution to a real world issue. Learning modules cultivate each student's entrepreneurial mindset, allowing them to have the freedom to add economic and/or social value to their community. Students explore concepts and develop skills through both short term and long term projects.
By the end of the year, students create a minimally viable venture idea, explore a variety of tools to develop the venture, and learn effective communication ideas through writing and giving pitches -- all while practicing the entrepreneurial mindset.
Goals for the program include developing a personal mission statement, an entrepreneurial mindset, critical thinking skills and problem solving skills. The course was developed and is taught by Middle School Curriculum Dean Chris Scoby and Head of Middle School Kris Grant. Guest speakers complement the lessons.
The program continues to expose students to technology as a tool to develop ideas, build empathy through human-centered design, and teach students to problem solve and think critically - in line with much of the project / problem based learning on the Shorecrest campus.
Students in Grades 5-8 participate with their teachers in extensions of classroom learning through overnight field experiences. These programs provide real-world opportunities through integrated learning.
Eighth Grade: Washington, D.C.
A four-day/three-night excursion to our nation’s capital is a rite of passage in many independent schools, and our eighth grade trip is an important link to our students’ understanding of our country, our culture, and America’s role in the global community. This trip builds beautifully on two years of global studies in Grades 5 and 6 social studies and two years of American experience in Grades 7 and 8. Integrating social studies, English, world languages, art, architecture, math and science, students visit historical sites such as the Capitol, historical monuments on the Mall, and many museums including Smithsonian sites.
Seventh Grade: St. Augustine, Florida
A three-day/two-night experiential history and environmental studies opportunity located in and around St. Augustine, FL. Students explore the Castillo de San Marcos, Old Town, Fort Mose, and other historical sites in America's oldest city. Students also study the North Florida environment and how it is related to the development of the area.
Sixth Grade: Pathfinder Outdoor Education
Pathfinder Outdoor Education is a non-profit organization dedicated to building personal, social and environmental responsibility through the power of shared experience. Their experiential educational programs develop leadership, increase self-confidence, and enhance communication through trust and team building activities. Canoeing, high ropes courses, and outdoor living skills are just a few of the fun, outdoor activities participants can do, working together to gain new skills in problem-solving, resolving conflict, listening, observing, and working effectively in a group.
Fifth Grade: Treeumph! Adventure Course
Group bonding and learning from risk taking on challenging terrain and hundreds of aerial adventure games in the trees.
Schoology software provides a user-friendly web space where teachers can securely post photos and announcements about classroom activities and assignments. It can also be used to monitor assignments and grades online, class events and other student resources.