MIDDLE YEARS GRADES 5-8

Westpark’s Middle Years students receive academic instruction that exceeds Manitoba’s curriculum requirements with a Christ-centered approach.  Our dedicated teachers tend to each young person’s character and spiritual development, and go above and beyond in providing engaging and challenging classroom instruction.

Grades 7 & 8 students are well-prepared by their classroom teachers to write mid-term and final examinations in ELA and Math. Students are offered a broad range of extra-curricular experiences such as outreach opportunities, athletics, student leadership, and special interest clubs through which they can develop their God-given gifts and talents.

  • 20 students average Middle Years class size

  • All grade 6 students participate in instrument band

  • 5 days per week prayer and devotion time

  • 3 extracurricular sports played in grades 7 & 8

  • All students in grades 5 thru 8 are assessed and assigned to literacy groups which meet daily leaning into a Structured Literacy approach to reading, spelling, sentence formation and the study of root word meanings. With scaffolding, students are taught how to write effective paragraphs in grade 5 which they build on in grade 6 as they write essays and make arguments using reasoning and text-based external evidence.

    Students transition from writing book reports individually in grades 5 & 6 to full-class novel studies in grades 7 and 8. Novel studies allow students to engage with texts in a meaningful way through the study of vocabulary, theme, character and plot development.

  • Grade 5 students become comfortable with multi-digit multiplication and long division while those in Grade 6 are introduced to algebra and integers. In grades 7 & 8, students begin to do multi-step math, taking key foundational skills and putting them together to form mathematical sentences, manipulating numbers and solving unknown variables in algebra.

  • Grade 5 students read music while playing the recorder, which prepares them for the flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, euphonium or tuba in Grade 6. The grade 6 instrument concert band provides students with an excellent opportunity to develop advanced music skills in a large ensemble setting. After an introductory year, students in grade 7 and 8 can choose band as an elective and may also apply to play other instruments such as percussion, French horn, or saxophone.

    There is a strong performative element to the music program at Westpark, and our students look forward to showcasing their skills at the Christmas and Spring Concerts for an audience of family and friends.

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

  • Coding Club, Student Council, and Prayer Group meet during lunch hour.

  • Middle Years students who love singing are invited to join our choir where they will practice and perform two-part harmonies in choral arrangements. Choir meets before or after school.

HOLISTIC APPROACH

  • Our students benefit from having a Resource Teacher, a team of Educational Assistants, and a School Counsellor who provide support for a host of needs. Speech therapy, occupational therapy, and educational psychological assessments are some of the additional tools available to help students thrive

  • As an important part of developing character, students participate in service and outreach initiatives on a monthly basis with their Middle Years class. One month each school year, each grade group is responsible for leading DOWN projects for the K-8 classes. We’ve seen Middle Years students reach out to the homeless with basic needs hampers, to the lonely with nursing home visits, to our local city government with prayer and encouragement, and also care for our environment with highway clean-up initiatives.

  • During daily prayer and devotion time, students study scripture, learn about the life and love of Jesus, and take time to pray for one another and their communities. These disciplines are built upon with two Bible classes each week, taught from curriculum that is developed in-house. Weekly large group chapels follow the UPSIDEDOWN PARTY rhythms.