Middle School News

Middle Schoolers Learn about the Game of Politics

On May 6, 36 Middle Schoolers competed in the 2023 Model Congress at Chapin School. The delegates, representing 14 schools, proposed their own bills and debated others. The delegates from Friends advocated for bills on subjects ranging from free access to healthcare for those below the poverty line, to banning standardized testing for college admissions, to abolishing private prisons. Seven students earned a ‘Golden Gavel’ as best legislator among all their peers, while three earned Honorable Mention.

Students have been well supported since their preparations began in January. Their teachers, Rachel Barany and Joseph Sills, have taught them about government, current events and ways to communicate their solutions to real world problems. Upper School mentors (Nina ’23, Ben ’23, Maya ’24, Julia ’25, Isabelle ’25 and Sascha ’26) coached them on making compelling arguments and speech writing. Professional speech writer and Friends parent Jillian Straus hosted an interactive workshop for students to practice their speeches. She urged them to speak with passion and to emulate the public speakers they most admire.

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Quizzical Scientists Share Work

On Thursday, May 19, Middle School students shared the results of their science experiments with parents and members of the community. Science Department Chair, Dr. Shayri Greenwood, explains, “The most important objective of the MS Science curriculum is to teach students how to communicate scientific concepts. Science Night is a time for students to explain, distill and demonstrate concepts explored in their lab reports. Covid has taught us there is a critical need for people to understand how to analyze and explain data.”

Students in Grades 5 and 6 had scope to test any hypothesis they were curious about. They considered questions ranging from "what shape withstands earthquakes best?" to "how do gender and family origins affect fingerprints?" While students in Grades 7 and 8 focused on a life science topic they have learned about and took a more specific and nuanced approach. Dr. Greenwood comments, “All students are learning the importance of looking at groups of data and drawing conclusions. When students dig into the data, it can lead to messy yet great experimentation and exploration!”

This inquiry-based learning is designed to prepare students for independent study in the Upper School. Dr. Greenwood comments, “Advanced Physics US students designed and implemented their own interactive experiments modeling physics concepts they learned throughout the year at Science Night. Running their experiments alongside Grade 6 students hopefully inspired a number of students to see how they grow to design intricate experiments as they progress through the science curriculum here at Friends.”