The Bay School

When a student enters the upper grades at the school, the academic experience of the child becomes increasingly rigorous as we prepare our students for high school and beyond. Yet important methods of working with the children from the lower grades remain evident here, too: there are still no textbooks, other than for some upper grades math classes, as even the more complex subjects are delivered orally with the support of printed resources and accompanying literature. Yet there are key differences, as curriculum begins to move farther, go deeper, becoming more specific and challenging as the older child is ready to meet ever more demanding work. The main lesson blocks reflect this advancing curriculum, too, as multilayered work with fables or early mathematics in the lower grades leads to the pointed study of science, history, and geography and algebra in the upper grades.

Language arts practice, too, is integrated into the daily curriculum, receiving both devoted time as its own subject class and woven into the class teacher’s Main Lesson in a myriad of ways. We place a high value on writing well, and offer our students increasingly challenging assignments that require them to translate class discussion and reading into a variety of written styles, including expository, narrative, creative, and persuasive pieces. These writings take many forms, including poetry, story, critical thinking journals, and five paragraph essays. In sum, the array of language arts lessons we offer give our students a deep immersion in the English language, and deepen each child’s experience of the written and spoken word as a means of understanding the world.

In the end, our students leave the school feeling overwhelmingly grateful for their days at this special place. As importantly, they graduate well-equipped to succeed in rigorous high school courses in both public and private settings, and Bay School alumni have become valued students in educational programs across the country.

Grades 5/6	Grades 6/7	Grades 7/8	Grade 8
SCIENCE AND MATH Physics #1: Heat, Light, Acoustics Botany #2 Astronomy Geology and Mineralogy Geometry HISTORY AND LITERATURE Ancient Greece Ancient Roman & Middle Eastern Cultures North American Geography European Geography Drama	SCIENCE AND MATH Physics #2: Thermodynamics, Optics, Acoustics Physics #3: Magnetism & Electricity Geometry in Nature Economics Climate Studies   HISTORY AND LITERATURE Perspectives in US History #1 South American Geography Geography of Africa Empires of the World European Middles Ages Drama	SCIENCE AND MATH Meteorology Chemistry #1: Physical Physics #4 Mechanics Chemistry #2: Organic & Nutrition Physiology & Human Sexuality   HISTORY AND LITERATURE European Renaissance Industrial Revolution Perspectives in US History #2 Geography of Asia Drama	SCIENCE AND MATH Anatomy Physics #5: Aero and Hydromechanics Oceanography Pre-Algebra Solid Geometry   HISTORY AND LITERATURE Ecology Perspectives in US History #3 Civil Rights Current Events World Religions- Religious Literacy Drama