Science
What We Teach
The GMS science curriculum focuses on building science skills across students’ three years as they move through different disciplines. Sixth grade students study Earth Science, using off-campus field studies to draw firsthand conclusions about the natural world based on their own data. In seventh grade Life Science, students study evolution to allow them to ask deep questions about the rest of the year’s topics. They design, conduct, analyze, and present their own original scientific studies. Eighth grade Physical Science includes both physics and chemistry using hands-on experiments. Throughout the year, students work on a research project on any science topic of their choosing, tackling at least one study from a peer-reviewed journal in the process.
Why We Teach It
Albert Einstein said, “The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking,” and we believe that science is just that accessible to every student. Each child’s inquisitive mind already makes her a scientist. Science is a natural process of observing phenomena, wondering how the world works, and searching for answers in order to make sense of the world. Every student at The Girls’ Middle School is a scientist who learns and practices the skills that professional scientists use in their daily endeavors. Because science is a way of understanding the world around us, rather than a collection of vocabulary words and facts, the students engage in many hands-on explorations, inquiries, and projects as they explore the natural world.