Academics

Middle School

Inspiration and Discovery

Welcome to Dawson’s Middle School. Through care, consistency, and support, our goal is to use these formative years to ready our students for the academic rigor of high school and beyond while also helping students grow into adults who contribute positively to our world.

Whether immersed in our innovative and engaging academics, scoring a goal on the athletic field, performing on stage, or programming a recently constructed robot, students are encouraged to cultivate a broad zest for learning. Leadership, self-advocacy, and public speaking skills are reinforced during activities on our on-site ropes course or through presentations for the parent community. In addition, our comprehensive advisory program allows space for students and faculty to connect meaningfully as they work together to reflect on choices or strengthen executive functioning skills necessary for success.

Middle school is a unique time in life, and we are dedicated to partnering with families to see, honor, and challenge children as they navigate the bridge between elementary and high school.

We look forward to meeting you and getting to know your family.

Sincerely,

Kristen Medler

Middle School Director

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Kristen Medler

Middle School Director

Middle School at Dawson

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Communication Development

Student-centered discussion, oral presentations, speeches, dramatic readings, poetry recitations, and performing arts improve students’ public speaking abilities and help students find their voice. Vocabulary and grammar instruction are woven into all of these units.
Experiential Learning

Middle school students participate in fall trips, field trips, community service, and Winterim. Their trips integrate life skills, character development, citizenship, team building, and science. Winterim includes on-campus programs and local, national, and international trips.
Annual Traditions

Middle school students enjoy Dawson Fest, winter carnival, spring dance, and their very own Halloween haunted house event.

Middle School at a Glance

Middle school includes art, english, information literacy, math, science, social studies, and world languages. They also have a wide variety of co-curriculars to choose from.

162 Students with an Average Class Size of 15
Dedicated Building and Playground
Brain Breaks and Time Outside
6 Leadership Clubs
Daily Advisory Class
Outdoor Challenge Course Program
Signature Spring Musical
Full-Time Counselor and Learning Specialist

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Integrating Innovation and Technology

Middle school students are provided a MacBook Air with Adobe Creative Suite, Google applications, and coding and productivity tools.

The Innovation and Technology curriculum delivers:

Foundational Technology Skills
Students learn to use age-appropriate hardware and software tools used for creativity, productivity, and collaboration, including creating and sharing documents, presentations, spreadsheets, and general technology literacy.

Programming
Foundations of coding in a variety of languages giving students opportunities to solve problems using algorithms. Students build web pages, apps, and games.

Engineering and Design
Electronics, 3D modeling/printing, prototyping, fabrication.

Robotics
Design, construction, operation, and application of robots

Digital Media
Digital capture, design, and production using photography, video, and audio.