Middle School Division (Grades 4, 5, and 6)
Berkshire Country Day School’s Lower School consists of Grades 4, 5, and 6
Highlights
- Students change classrooms and buildings to be taught by subject-specific teachers or by teachers specialized in the subject
- Students work on different aspects of the same topic in several classes during the same month or term, with instruction in each subject expanding on material and skills from earlier grades, allowing children’s learning to proceed smoothly
- Modern Foreign Languages taught entirely in the target language
- Latin added in Grade 6 as the second required foreign language
- English classes that stress the classics and writing skills, with extensive reading from a variety of unabridged classic books and frequent writing assignments
- Social studies program focusing on exploration and discovery, ancient cultures, and global, political, and cultural geography
- Rich and expansive arts program—visual, industrial, choral, instrumental, and theatrical
- Laboratory-based science program with emphasis on scientific methodology, including conducting experiments, taking notes, and writing up laboratory work
- Math curriculum concentrating on numerical, algebraic, and geometric foundations, and solid preparation for algebra in Grades 7 and 8
- Extended curriculum-based field trips beginning in Grade 5. Fifth grade goes to Nature’s Classroom in Wakefield, Rhode Island, and Grade 6 to the Hulbert Outdoor Center in Fairlee, Vermont
- After-school team sports beginning in Grade 4: soccer, basketball, alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, and lacrosse
- Student access to teachers with a strong advisory program in which faculty members monitor their advisee’s academic and personal progress, and counsel and advocate for success
- Student leadership and citizenship is developed through membership in Student Council and a variety of service learning projects
