Middle School (Grades 6-8)
Dear Parents and Visitors,
Whether you are a current AIM community member or a prospective family, I want to take a moment to welcome you to AIM’s Middle School!
I have had the privilege to be a part of AIM’s Middle School for over a decade both as a classroom teacher and Curriculum and Instructional Leader, and now as Head of Middle School. The learning that happens here every day never ceases to amaze me. Our students are resilient and fearless and are taught by a group of amazingly talented educators. Our focus on research-based practices allows our students to understand their true potential as learners and celebrate their differences while developing their critical thinking skills and independence.
Middle school is a dynamic time for children. The growth and development that happens during this period in life are important when considering how we approach our instruction and goals for every child. AIM’s Middle School vision is centered around supporting the whole child and helping every child develop an understanding of their learning needs. Our programming has been developed to nurture the emotional, social, and intellectual needs of our students. This approach, integrated within a rigorous curriculum, allows us to promote independence and helps individuals foster an understanding of their own learning profiles. It is our hope that our middle schoolers leave 8th grade with a strong sense of who they are, how they learn, and what they need in order to be successful.
I encourage you to explore the website to learn more about our program, curriculum and middle school community. Please reach out to us if you are interested in learning more!
Warm Regards,
Chrissy Mellon
Fearless and Future Ready
The Road To Independence
Becoming an independent learner is the key objective of the Middle School. Students are given the tools necessary to help them organize and manage their workload with the scaffolding of teacher and peer models. An interdisciplinary curriculum challenges critical thinking skills, and students learn how to identify connections between ideas and how one area of study can inform or influence another. Middle School classrooms are small by design to allow for differentiation of instruction alongside collaborative project-based learning.
- 1:1 laptop program beginning in 6th grade.
- Advisory meeting occurs every morning where students plan and prioritize for the day and week.
- Executive Functioning Skills are not only interwoven throughout the curriculum but are reinforced bi-weekly at advisory. Students engage in activities meant to develop such competencies as response inhibition, sustained attention, task initiation, goal-directed persistence and metacognition, just to name a few.
- Personal Learning Profiles are created for each student and data-driven progress monitoring enables teachers to add and review changes in each student’s learning profile.
- Self-advocacy coaching and practice is commonplace in Middle School. Students are encouraged to approach teachers about extended time, quieter work spaces, various forms of assistive technology and other accommodations on a day-to-day basis.
- Meditation and Mindfulness techniques are infused into daily classroom routines and instruction. These methods help to alleviate and manage the stress that students can experience in the classroom setting.