St. Mark’s Middle School: 5th-6th Grade
St. Mark’s Lutheran Middle School serves students in the 5th through 6th grades. The average class size is about 25 students with one full-time teacher in each classroom. There are always three classes of each Middle School grade level.
Middle School At A Glance
- The St. Mark’s 5th and 6th grade students are on an eight-period daily class rotation. This schedule and curriculum encourage the development of personal responsibility, social intelligence, time management, and leadership skills.
- Core Subjects: Math, Science, Social Studies, and Language Arts (literature, writing, grammar, spelling, and vocabulary).
- To equip students with a well-rounded education, specialized instruction is provided for the 5th and 6th grade students in these areas: Art, Computer, Foreign Language, Library, Music, Physical Education/Health, and Religion.
- Each of the Middle School classes participate in exploratory experiences such as Leadership classes with Principal Gerardo, a lunar New Year celebration, and off-campus overnight field trips.
- St. Mark’s offers numerous extracurricular programs for its Middle School students: Band, Basketball, Cross Country, Drama Club, Flag Football, Handbell Choir, Mini Mega Bank Teller/Board Member, Praise Band, Track and Field, and Volleyball.
Curriculum Overview
St. Mark's strong, standards-based Middle School curriculum provides students with an extensive breadth of knowledge to ensure success in higher education. As a community of life-long learners, we hold high expectations for all our 5th through 6th grade students. The rigorous curriculum encourages students to develop critical thinking skills and depth of knowledge and character.
The curriculum and activities at St. Mark's span a wide variety of subjects for students to experience. St. Mark's Lutheran School's philosophy incorporates the belief that each person is a unique individual with God-given interests and abilities. By exposing students to a multitude of experiences, students can develop their talents, find areas in which to be successful, and develop new interests. We truly believe that EVERY child has the potential for greatness!
Innovative Science Program – Amplify Science!
This schoolwide Science curriculum will continue to foster our mission of developing St. Mark's students to be lifelong learners, complex thinkers, and effective communicators. Amplify Science is a collaboration between the curriculum experts at the University of California Berkley’s Lawrence Hall of Science and the instructional technology experts at Amplify. Amplify Science was built to address 100% of the Next Generation Science Standards.
In each Amplify Science unit, from Kindergarten to 8th grade, students are asked to inhabit the role of a scientist or engineer in order to investigate a real-world problem. These problems provide relevant, 21st century contexts through which students will investigate different scientific phenomena. Once the problem context is clear, students collect evidence from multiple sources and through a variety of modalities. They move back and forth from first-hand investigation to second-hand analysis and synthesis, formulating an increasingly complex explanatory capacity for the problem at hand.
5th Grade Two-Day Sacramento/San Francisco Trip
The 5th graders fly to Sacramento and San Francisco for an exciting two-day, one-night field trip. During this exploratory experience, their first stop is Sacramento, where they visit the Railroad Museum, tour the capitol building, and drive by the old governor's mansion and Sutter's Fort, which ties in with their Social Studies curriculum. In San Francisco, the students visit the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, the Exploratorium (a hands-on science, technology, and arts museum), Chinatown, and ride on a cable car, which corresponds with both the Social Studies and Science curricula.
6th Grade Five-Day Outdoor Education Camping Trip
The 6th graders travel by bus to El Camino Pines, located in the Los Padres National Forest above Frazier Park, for a five-day, four-night outdoor education adventure. They participate in activities such as an earthquake walk, hike the California Trail, and learn about rocks, pollution, and astronomy, which deepens their understanding of the Science curriculum. Additionally, camp helps them build their relationship with God through morning prayer, singing praise songs, and performing acts of service to help beautify the camp.
