The Upper School
Welcome to the Upper School! We think that you
will find plenty of adventure and challenge in our sixth through
ninth grade program at Bement. Daily course study ranges from
a rat dissection ( Biology 9 ) to an in-depth view of
the Civil War ( History 8 ), rehearsing a play ( Drama 6-9
) to discussing the Odyssey ( English 9 ), or performing chemical
experiments ( Science 8 ) to learning how to graph equations (Algebra I ). You may even be in a class with several
of our international students who are boarders. Each day will
begin with an Upper School morning meeting followed by a silent
reading period with your advisor group, and you will end the
day with rigorous play during our hour-and-a-half sports period.
While these adventures occur throughout the day you will notice
that all those involved with every class, activity, and sport
embrace the values…acceptance, honesty, integrity, kindness,
respect, and responsibility…which help us to maintain our
strong sense of community. It takes a major effort to do this
daily, but the rewards are many. Students and teachers working
together makes the daily journey much easier and more enriching!
The academic year is organized on a
trimester system. A Mini-Term with a special schedule of courses,
electives and speakers organized around a theme is offered
every winter term between Thanksgiving and winter break. Students
in grade 6 have their academic courses centered around the
homeroom concept; in grades 7-9, students travel to different
classrooms for their instruction from teachers who specialize
in subject areas.
 Each
morning begins with an Upper School meeting. This meeting
is followed by a silent reading period, two academic classes,
a 20-minute recess, and then two more academic classes. Lunch
is followed by one more class. Students generally have one
study hall each day during which time all teachers are available
for extra help. Every Friday Upper School students eat lunch
and participate in individual or group activities with their
advisors. Homework is assigned on a daily as well as long-term
basis.
|
