October Letter from Middle School Dean of Academics

Our Seventh Grade math students have been exploring transformations, scale drawings, and similarity through real-world applications. To ground these concepts in our everyday environment, Elle Wong took students into the courtyard to observe our ongoing campus construction and analyze geometric transformations in action. Students applied these ideas by first designing a model apartment subject to specific constraints, and then built a scale model of the lunar module spacecraft.

In Sixth Grade technology, Adam McDonald is introducing students to the fundamentals of coding and game design. Students are learning block coding through the Scratch programming language while developing complementary skills in pixel art and digital audio. These foundational projects build the computational thinking and creative confidence students will draw on in future grades as they design websites, explore digital wellness, and tackle advanced programming.

We are thrilled to welcome Sofia Piel as our new Middle School drama teacher! Sofia brings incredible energy and deep expertise to our theater program, creating a supportive environment where students are eager to take creative risks. Our Eighth Grade actors are rehearsing fractured fairytales, practicing the essential theatrical skill of vulnerability as they perform in front of their peers. Meanwhile, Sofia is preparing students for our upcoming fall play, Tuesday Night Treasure Hunters and the Case of the Kraken’s Eye—a production packed with whimsy, mystery, and perfect middle school energy!

We are excited to welcome Gilly Nadel to our Middle School Seventh Grade English team! Gilly brings a deep passion for writing and creative expression to our humanities curriculum. In a recent lesson, students annotated text to answer an essential chapter question while listening to Gilly read aloud. This multimodal approach supports varied learning styles—particularly students who benefit from auditory processing—by demonstrating tone, fluency, and vocal expression in real time.

World Languages: Differentiated and Immersive Learning

• French: Quincy Taylor is guiding students from review into new vocabulary. Recently, students worked in small groups to create and present original stories via skits, videos, or visual art—completed entirely in French.
  
  
• Mandarin: Ming Feng effectively supports students across a wide range of proficiency levels through a blend of whole-group instruction and targeted, differentiated activities, ensuring every learner is appropriately challenged.
  
  
• Spanish: Monica Alperovich, who previously taught in our Lower School Spanish program, is introducing students to total physical response and multi-sensory techniques. This holistic approach engages both physical and cognitive processes, reminding students that language learning involves the whole self.

 

Continuous Learning: Faculty and Student Growth