A Commitment to Care and Challenge

Your daughter’s middle school years are a time of rapid change—intellectually, emotionally, socially, and physically. They are a time of self-discovery, when she starts to see the many different paths she can follow as a learner and as a person. They are a crucial time to develop agency, self-advocacy, and independence.

With deep and abiding care for every student and inspiring passion for the subjects they teach, our educators guide your daughter to make the most of these pivotal two years, so she’s ready for our Upper School and all that comes next.

Our Middle School Philosophy

We value your daughter’s kindness…so we help her better understand her communities and build relationships with them.

We value her agency and independence…so we guide her to take greater ownership of her education and to advocate for herself and for others.

We value her curiosity and creativity…so we encourage her to try new challenges rather than to seek perfection.

We value her power…so we challenge her to develop resilience and to discover and use her amazing capabilities.

We value her Middle School years…so we create time and space to explore, take risks, and experience messiness as a fun and important part of this journey. 

 

Middle School Signature Experiences 

Multidisciplinary programs expand your daughter’s sense of all the possibilities the world has to offer—and her own ability to make positive change.

Reading the Cathedral Class 
In Grade 7, your daughter explores Washington National Cathedral in all its dimensions—architectural, historic, artistic, religious—developing complex interpretive skills while reflecting on her own spiritual life.
Independent Research
In Grade 8, your daughter conducts and presents independent research in two courses: Earth Science and American Government. For each course, she delves deeply into a topic of her choosing, building advanced research, writing, critical thinking, and oral presentation skills that prepare her for Upper School and our more advanced curriculum.
Performing Arts 
Through our performing arts programs, your daughter can express herself publicly in a variety of forms—growing confident and adept in her self-presentation while bringing joy to herself and the world. She can sing in the chorus, perform in the orchestra, make films, act on stage (including in the ever-popular Middle School Musical), and ring the Cathedral bells in the Whitechapel Guild, among many other opportunities. 
Athletics
Vigorous movement and fitness are essential to academic success as well as to physical and mental health. At NCS, your daughter can participate in competitive sports, dance, whitewater kayaking and rock climbing, and/or a personal fitness program. Wherever her interests lie, our professional coaches will help her feel and perform at her best.
Ethics Service Project
Our Grade 8 ethics course gives your daughter a rigorous framework to consider and develop her personal value system. Throughout the course, she creates and carries out a service project based on those values. 

   

Advisory 

Our Middle School advisors serve as supporters, sounding boards, advocates, and mentors for students and their families. Advisory is a safe place for your daughter to connect with classmates and discuss academic and social questions. She meets her advisor at the beginning of Seventh Grade and remains with that same advisor through both years, ensuring consistency, comfort, and deep understanding.

 

Leadership 

In classes and clubs throughout Middle School, we intentionally develop your daughter’s leadership skills, focusing on how to turn an idea into effective action. She learns to ask productive questions, make plans, find the necessary resources, and inspire others to participate. In Vestry, Service Club, Student Government, public speaking class, and many other spaces, teachers expertly guide her to find her unique leadership style. 

 

 

The Middle School Journey

 

Grade 7
In Seventh Grade, we guide your daughter to begin charting her own path of intellectual, social, emotional, and physical growth. To navigate these changes and prepare for the challenges ahead, she learns important executive function, writing, research, technology, and study skills. 
Grade 8
Eighth Grade offers your daughter significant new opportunities to lead and serve her communities, along with increased academic challenges, including original research projects in Earth Science and American Government. 

Explore Middle School Curriculum

 

Coordinate Program with St. Albans School for Boys 

Starting in 7th Grade, your daughter can participate in coed programs in drama, orchestra, and chorus with students from St. Albans. 

Learn more  

 

“Part of what makes me adore this school is the teachers. You can see how much they love their jobs, and they make them look effortless. They are always understanding and completely invested in their students’ growth. They’ve made me feel free and safe to take risks, knowing there is a soft landing waiting for me if I fall.” –Grade 8 student

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