The water cycle, the carbon cycle, the rock cycle, the cell cycle. Probably in no other school discipline is there more cycles than in science. Often depicted as a circle, the cycle is often thought to have no beginning and no end. While many of the cycles in earth science follow that rule, some of the other cycles are really biochemical pathways where there is a starting point and a progressive order that repeats.  

Such is science and such is life. We can think of life without a beginning or end. While we can also think of life as being a series of events (like biochemical reactions) that are influenced by what happened before and affect what will happen after. The commonality between these cycles in science is the interdependence of each phase.

Beyond the students learning basic science concepts, we hope that they realize and learn that all school disciplines overlap; that the need to read and write well, to learn another language, to have number sense, to know history and understand health and wellness are all part of learning science. Further, our learning is a series of experiences that are influenced by what happened before and affect what will happen after.

Middle School science experiences are influenced by their participation in Lower School. While also affecting how they will learn in the future. As the 6th Grade students learn the basics of earth science, they will also learn some physics and life science. While the 7th Grade students learn the basics of life science, they will also learn some chemistry and physics along the way. In 8th Grade, they explore those principles of chemistry and physics more thoroughly, gaining a deeper understanding to build on yet further.

We hope they will learn to embrace science and, if not love or like it, at least not be afraid of it.

6th Grade Science

The big concept in 6th grade science is convection. The students discovered how land and water heat and cool different. The students are now exploring the Theory of Plate Tectonics in which they are gathering evidence that led to the theory (previously called the Theory of Continental Drift). As the second trimester progresses, they will research how the Earth's tectonic plates move and what are the geological results of this movement.

7th Grade Science

In 7th grade science, the students are using microscopes to look at cells. Along with knowing what cells are used for, there are many amazing things that happen in and around the cell. The students will show what they discovered about a cell cycle by doing a cell cycle project. The bulk of the cell cycle project will happen after they have completed and submitted their three and half month long Science Fair Project. As the second trimester continues, the students will move on from cells to look at the human body by way of looking at specific human organ systems.

8th Grade Science

With the beginning of the new trimester, 8th grade science class has moved from chemistry to physics, continuing the idea of using science as part of a interlocking set of mental tools to understand the world. Having looked at the way the basic particles of matter interact to create the human-scale chemical reactions we see every day, we’re studying the laws that govern the motion of all objects, from distant stars to the pencils rolling off desks. Students are currently at work programming Lego robots so that their movements match graphs of position and velocity. Soon, we’ll be looking at the acceleration of gravity, making calculations using similar equipment to that once used by Galileo, before moving on to understanding and applying Newton’s three laws of motion.

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