Given the unprecedented level of uncertainty about what will be important tomorrow, allegiance to thought, the emphasis on depth, mastery, imagination, passion and adaptability , remains a priority that shapes every aspect of the school's academic program. The middle years at Shady Hill are a time of academic and intellectual consolidation. Students continue to explore, of course, but they are able to do so with greater understanding. Having learned to read, they now use imaginative and fact-based literature to master new information and assess its worth. They are capable of more complex number functions in mathematics and the scientific inquiry that allows them to discover principles.
Central Subjects bring new understandings about human motivation and behavior.
In studying peoples or eras like the Ancient Greeks or Medieval Life, fourth and fifth graders find themselves absorbed in worlds previously unknown to them. With their growing knowledge comes the ability and the desire to research, to write effectively, to begin to perceive and hold opposing points of view. Our curriculum is designed to help students sharpen their ability to make inferences, draw conclusions and understand complex cause and effect. Exploration continues, but with a greater emphasis on making connections. The seventh grade Central Subject for instance, focuses on Colonial America, beginning with the Age of Exploration that led to vast global migration and the resulting desire for political and personal independence and revolution.