Upper School (5th-8th)

The Choice Program is offered 4 times a year. Choice classes are short, 8-day and 12 day sessions, during which children spend about forty-five minutes a day focusing on a special topic they have selected from a menu of options designed by the Upper School teachers, Specialist teachers, and Peninsula Staff. Choice topics are wide ranging and may focus on history, writing, sciences, sports, handcrafts, or any of the arts. Recent Choice classes include: the World and History of Tea, Making Various Types of Dough, Film Critique, Songwriting, Backpacking, and Learning Basic Computer Assisted Design. Since Choice classes are based on student interest rather than on grade, the mix of students in any Choice class is multi-age. These multi-age classes enable students to experience learning in a variety of social situations, explore unusual topics, and connect with teachers and students they might not see everyday. Choice classes are an opportunity for students to dive into niche topics with teachers who are also passionate about those topics.

Across the Upper School, students engage in questions central to the study of the Human Condition. Who am I? Who are we? How did we get here? What is my role in the story of humanity? At the core, our humanities program explores what it means to be human, throughout history, today, and into the future. In 6th grade's study of ancient civilizations, students read A Single Shard, by Linda Sue Park, a novel about a young boy in ancient Korea. In 7th grade's unit on race in American History, students are exploring how artists in the Harlem Renaissance forged new identities through their art. After engaging with primary sources, they write a short response at their chrome books. As students consider this question, they will also build towards an arts integrated project, where they are tasked with communicating an answer to the larger unit question on race in the United States. As part of a study of Genocide and the Holocaust, 8th grade students design, create, and install an art exhibit memorializing Holocaust victims and honoring individual children during their time in the Terezin Ghetto.

During math, students work on grade-level math tasks that encourage mathematical questioning, problem-solving, and reasoning. Curricula include the middle school material of the Common Core and emphasize problem-solving, collaboration and growth mindset. Student work includes grade-level textbook work as well as class and individual projects such as miniature city building to study geometry or creating a restaurant to practice decimals and percents. Students often work in pairs or small groups requiring collaborative problem solving and mathematical discourse. There are two teachers in each math class, enabling support for students when they need extra practice and extension of concepts for those who want it. In math, and across the upper school, students are encouraged to take risks and make mistakes. As students advance towards 7th and 8th grade math and Algebra, students begin to use online tools and learning management systems to facilitate familiarity with those tools. Assessments, homework and grading practices also become more traditional in preparation for high school. Most of our graduates leave Peninsula ready for advanced math in High School. 

The Upper School Science curriculum is designed to nurture student curiosity and joy in exploration. Students build 21st century skills  through hands-on inquiry and projects as they sharpen their ability to analyze evidence and answer scientific questions that explain the world around them. Over the course of the Upper School Science program, students build their facility with the scientific method and learn science content across scientific domains including Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science, and Engineering Design. 

In an increasingly interconnected world, knowing a second language is invaluable. It develops adolescents’ understanding of human diversity and skills to engage with people from different backgrounds. Learning Spanish exposes students to the rich variety of Spanish-speaking countries, embracing the diversity of their cultures, traditions, and histories. Our Spanish program prioritizes proficiency, focusing on the capacity to communicate spontaneously in the target language. Students are exposed to authentic resources and different dialects of the Spanish language, increasing their awareness of variations in the language and cultures. Students who are native speakers or fluent in Spanish have the opportunity to read more deeply in Spanish on relevant topics, support classmates, or explore content in Spanish to continue developing reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills.

A foundational component of community building in the Upper School is our Camping Program. All Upper School students go camping twice per year, once in the fall and again in the spring. The fall trip includes the whole Upper School camping in the same place, getting together on the final night to cook a meal and host a talent show for one another. In the spring, students camp with their grade level class. The trips are organized by the students with teacher support. Students plan, shop for and cook all the meals, organize activities during the trip, negotiate with friends around how to share a tent. Camping provides each group time to build and strengthen relationships with each other and with their teachers. As Peninsula students advance in age and grade, their camping trips progressively grow longer and involve more student-led planning, thoughtfulness, and responsibility. 

The Upper School’s deep foundational work in Social and Environmental Justice helps students develop a critical understanding of social issues and fosters empathy and awareness, for oneself, for others, and for our planet. It enables students to recognize and challenge stereotypes, biases, and injustices. Questions of equity and justice are integrated directly into the curriculum content through the questions we ask, the texts we choose, and the actions we take in our community. This work necessarily goes beyond the classroom, including students' lived experiences outside of school and in planned excursions off campus. Through a deeper understanding of global and local issues and injustice, students become transformative changemakers in their communities.

There is a sweet spot with homework; not so much that students are overwhelmed but enough that adolescents are learning the skills needed for life beyond Peninsula School. The homework load is scaffolded across a student’s journey through the Upper School and increases from 2-3 tasks per week in 5th grade to 1 hour or more every night in 8th. Homework is limited to high quality practice, such as math problem sets, studying for assessments, writing, or work on school projects, and is assigned to help students build executive functioning and independent problem solving skills.  These executive functioning skills and habits of mind are a critical part of preparing students for success in High School and beyond. 

Each year students might participate in after school activities such as student organized dances and team sports. Every year looks a little bit different depending on the desires of the class. In 8th grade in particular, students might devote class time to planning a school dance or fundraiser, and another year the class might focus more on camping planning, or decide they would like to plan an additional field trip. The Upper School encourages students to organize based on their interests, facilitating involvement in various sports programs when possible, and helping students find ways to practice community organizing around subjects that interest them most. All classes in the Upper School work on projects together that build in student responsibility as the years go on, growing students' capabilities to independently organize and consider how they would like to be active contributors to the Upper School, and broader school community.