Middle School

The Middle School consists of students in Classes (Grades) 6 through 8. Heritage has a strong record of graduating students who are capable of acceptance into highly selective Atlanta area private schools and outstanding public schools. Middle school can be a trying time in the life of an adolescent. Heritage’s middle school is focused on meeting the academic, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of students during this critical time in their lives.

Middle School Schedules:
Classes 6-8 meet five days a week:  8:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Middle School Curriculum:

Language Arts:  
The main goal of the Middle School Language Arts program is to develop skillful, thoughtful writers and to engage students in the classics of Western literature.  Each element of class aims to enhance and improve students’ abilities to examine literature and to articulate their observations in a written format. The Socratic Method of discrete, guided questioning is introduced in an effort to involve students in a deep dialogue of seeking truth and forming sound conclusions.  Students are challenged to include a Biblical worldview when analyzing and interpreting a particular author’s intended message and to reflect on the impact an author may have on each student’s own beliefs and values.  

Mathematics:  
Middle School students demonstrate mastery of mathematical fluency through applied problems and critical thinking.  The following areas of study are followed:  

  • Class 6: Saxon Math 87
  • Class 7: Pre-Algebra:  An Accelerated Course
  • Class 8: Elementary Algebra  


History:  
The Veritas History program is used for Classes 1-8.  Historical periods of study are as follows:

  • Class 6: The Fall of Rome to the Renaissance and Counter Reformation
  • Class 7: Early American History, from 1600 to 1850
  • Class 8: From 1850 to Modern Day


More emphasis is placed on the study of literature during the Middle School years.  The curriculum of literature and history is integrated as much as possible. Students read biographies, historical fiction, poetry, epics, plays, and novels from or about the historical period under study.  

Science:  
Each Middle School class level investigates one particular area of science.  Precise and thorough thinking in each of the following areas is encouraged:

  • Class 6: Physical Science
  • Class 7: Life Science
  • Class 8: Physical Science with an emphasis on Chemistry


Latin:  
The Latin course uses the text Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata, (The Latin language IIlustrated by Itself). It consists of two parts: Pars I and II. The class uses only the first part, Familia Romana, as the fundamental course. Thirty-five chapters form a sequence of scenes and incidents from the life of a Roman family in the second century A.D. The book is written entirely in Latin, but from beginning to end, the text is designed so that every sentence is intelligible. The meaning or function of all new words and forms is made clear by the context. If necessary, pictures or marginal notes refer to vocabulary already learned. Thus, no need exists to look up words, to analyze, or to translate in order to understand the meaning. Vocabulary and grammar are learned by the observation of a large number of illustrative examples that are part of a coherent text.

Logic:  
Students in Classes 7 and 8 study the branch of logic categorized as “informal.”  Sometimes referred to as “dialectical logic,” informal logic is the language of debate and the interchange of ideas between people.  Formal logic focuses on deductive reasoning and the structure of a valid sound argument. Informal logic examines inductive reasoning and the use of language in an argument.

Bible:
Class 6:  Reading, narration, and discussion of the Essential 100 Bible Guide daily family readings form the basis of instruction in Class 6.

Class 7:  This class surveys the entirety of Old Testament history from creation and the patriarchal period to the exile and postexilic periods.  Students are provided with a framework for the whole Bible, tracing God’s story of creation, fall, and redemption, in order to observe the way that all Scriptures point to the ultimate object of our faith – Jesus Christ.

Class 8:  Bible at the Class 8 level introduces students to some of the diverse literary genres of the New Testament, as well as to the historical setting of the Gospels and Pauline corpus.  Students trace God’s story of creation, fall, and redemption from the intertestamental period though the early growth of the church in the first century AD, reinforcing that all the Scriptures point to the ultimate object of our faith – Jesus Christ.

Music:   
All classes are exposed to classical musicians and their works.  Students are taught to listen and to hear discriminately in order to understand musical ideas. They are also taught to sing as accurately as possible and to have a working understanding of musical notation.

Art:  
All classes learn many elements of art: shape, line, color, and texture, as well as the use of different mediums: clay, tempera paint, acrylic paint, charcoal, and crayon.  The time periods studied in Art align with the periods studied in History:

  • Class 6: Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic Artwork
  • Class 7: Late Renaissance Art through the Impressionists
  • Class 8: Post-Impressionism through the Modern Art of the 20th Century


Computers and Technology:
The computer is a tool; and, similar to any tool, it has its appropriate place and usage. Heritage recognizes the benefits of such a tool and actively encourages its use by teachers during classroom presentations and by students in upper grades for research and writing assigned papers. Heritage also recognizes that computers have their deficiencies as well, including, but not limited to, passive learning.

Heritage encourages Middle School students to have basic proficiency with keyboarding and Internet research.  Teachers build on these basic skills in a variety of disciplines where study skills and the use of a safe and appropriate approach to computers are encouraged.

Physical Education:
The goal of Physical Education is to prepare students for a lifetime of healthy living while training them in activities that will inspire as well as equip them to maintain a healthy lifestyle.  Heritage believes that the athletic and physical training that students participate in on a daily basis will produce lifelong results, by strengthening their bodies, minds and character through discipline, skills acquisition, consistent practice, self-control, and teamwork.

Middle School students participate in P.E. four days a week.

Worship:
Weekly Chapel is planned and implemented to inspire students to learn the joy and importance of worship. Chapel takes place every Friday morning for all students in Classes 1-8.  Parents and guests are encouraged to participate.

Heritage students attend churches representing a wide variety of worship styles, from liturgical to traditional to contemporary. Chapel aims to enable students to become better worshippers no matter what their families’ denomination or style of worship may be.

The weekly Chapel experience is a fundamental and distinctive part of Heritage education. Its purpose is to provide the spiritual overtone that should guide students’ decision-making in their daily lives.

Middle School students have their own Chapel service every other week. This allows for age appropriate content and involves discussions in a small group setting.

Hands-on Service:
Students are taught to put their faith into practice and to be involved in active, hands-on service. First, they serve as individual classrooms by having a physical area of the school that they are responsible for cleaning and maintaining.  During a small period of time each week, students may serve by vacuuming a carpet or dusting furniture in their classrooms.  Secondly, students in Middle School are required to select, as a class, a particular service project that they choose to work on during the year. The project may range from working at a homeless shelter to gleaning food from a farmer’s field and taking it to a food bank.   Students then create a display board that portrays their work. The final presentation of the class project is placed on display during the year-end Fine Arts Day celebration.

Clubs:
Heritage offers athletic and academic clubs for Lower and Middle School students. These clubs complement the core curriculum of the school and allow students to pursue increased understanding and competency in a variety of interests. Students have an opportunity to participate in clubs one or two days a week. Clubs meet after-school between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. 

  • Soccer Club (Classes 1-3; Classes 4-8)
  • Drama Club (Classes 3-8)
  • Nature Study Club (Classes 1-3)
  • Cross Country Team (Classes 3-8)
  • Chess Club (Classes 3-8)
  • Basketball (Classes 1-3; Classes 4-8)
  • Yearbook/Photography (Classes 3-8)
  • Golf (Classes 1-8)
  • Tennis (Classes 1-8)
  • Track and Field (Classes 3-8) 

Inter-scholastic Competition:
Heritage Middle School students participate in a range of inter-scholastic competitions. These include a wide range of disciplines:

  • Spelling Bees
  • Math Counts
  • Creative Writing Contests
  • Art Festivals
  • The National Latin Exam
  • ERB Standardized Testing

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