The Middle School Community

Rock Prairie Montessori Middle School offers adolescents an enriched educational experience, combining rigorous academic inquiry with authentic experiences in real world problem-solving, service learning and entrepreneurial activities. This integrated curriculum requires students to be responsible and respectful members of their community in order to both collaborate and pursue individualized self-directed work. Students practice stewardship of both our farm enterprises and the land itself. Throughout the year, we challenge our students to stretch themselves through off-campus experiences and trips that connect their academic learning to the world beyond our school community. To ensure a Montessori Middle School is the best fit for your student we have a purposeful set of admissions steps that will help guide this decision.

Our Montessori Adolescent community is designed to help adolescents answer the question, “Where do I fit in?” Along with Maria Montessori, we propose that the work of the adolescent is to find their purpose and place in society.

With this in mind and in alignment with Rock Prairie Montessori School ’s Mission and Vision our Middle School has these objectives:

To foster each adolescent’s emerging abstract thinking skills and encourage intellectual risk-taking through rigorous, flexible, and inquiry-based learning within an integrated curriculum.
To inspire intellectual curiosity while giving opportunity and instruction that develop 21st Century core competencies such as collaboration, creativity, innovation, communication, resiliency, reflection, digital fluency, and critical thinking.
To prepare adolescents for the daily activities of adult life through authentic experiences in real-world problem solving and entrepreneurial activities.
To connect adolescents to diverse cultural and ecological environments through experiential learning within a global ‘classroom’.
To provide opportunities to develop confidence and mastery through meaningful work and exploration in a thoughtful and empowering environment.
To assist adolescents in developing healthy relationships with themselves and one another.
To support moral and ethical development by linking adolescents’ budding desire for fairness and individual freedom to a broader understanding of social justice and individual responsibility.
To guide adolescents in becoming self-directed, life-long learners with an attitude of service and stewardship to the local and global community.

Growing Roots

Growing Roots is Rock Prairie Middle School's student-run business. Students create soap, lip balm, paw balm and beard balm, all hand-made!

Goods are sold throughout the school year. More information about Growing Roots can be found by clicking here.

Behind the scenes at Growing Roots:

LINKS

Criteria for Student Success

A Typical Day in the Adolescent Community:

Classroom / Practical Life chores (30 min)
Community Gathering (20-30 min)
Morning Work cycle
Lunch/Break (45 min)
Afternoon Work Cycle
Classroom / Practical Life chores (15 min)
Reflect and Connect (15 min)

Middle School Business, Growing Roots, Soap Sales

Curriculum

An academic year is divided into six units of inquiry. Each unit of inquiry is developed around a unifying theme which the students engage with through the central concepts and essential questions posed to them in each of the following subject areas: Social Studies, English Language Arts, Spanish Language Arts, Math, Science.

Dr. Montessori felt that schools should educate the whole child and that particularly during adolescence the acquisition of academic skills should occur alongside the development of the skills necessary for success in all aspects of adult life. Montessori called these “practical life skills” and divided them into four areas. Here at Rock Prairie, we have developed a Middle School practical life curriculum for each area: Personal Development (Personal Reflection, Human Growth and Development, Finance, Mindfulness, Nutrition, and Physical Education), Stewardship, Community Service, and Daily Life (skills may include sewing, knitting, cooking, creative writing, photography, painting, collage, drawing, ukulele, , etc.)

Intersession Enrichment

Each of our units of inquiry will conclude with a one-week intersession.

These are an opportunity for students to gain real-world experience that aids in the development of autonomy, responsibility, and practical life skills while offering the opportunity to apply what they have learned through meaningful work. To help them answer the questions, “Why does this matter? and “How can I make a difference?”

Intersession activities include:

On Campus Intersessions:

The presentation of summative work from their inquiries to experts from the discipline studied.
Entrepreneurial enterprise development
Performances and/or Presentation of curated work.

Off Campus Intersessions:

Yearly: Wilderness/Leadership adventure

Year A:

Service/volunteer immersion.
Government/Cultural trip

Year B:

Internship with a business or profession
Ecology/Local History trip

Field Trips and Outings

Field trips are an integral part of the Middle School curriculum; thus, enrollment in the RPMS Middle School presumes a commitment to attend those trips. Please be aware of the following:

The American Montessori Society recommends and views field trips as significant growth opportunities for adolescents. Here at Rock Prairie, we agree that they have a clear positive impact on our students' self-confidence, independence, and competence. The final field trip offers them an opportunity to synthesize what they have learned and connect it to real life experiences. In addition, we have found that the investment they make in planning their trip, meals, and travel gives them a sense of accomplishment and self-worth.
Our school year begins with a three-day overnight leadership trip to build community and strengthen individual leadership skills.
For some students, this may be the first overnight trip without family or with a group of peers. If your middle schooler is expressing concern about the trip, we ask that you encourage them to talk with the middle school teachers. Our first trip is purposefully close by, and we let fretting students know they can always go home if they become too uncomfortable. Before and during that leadership trip, we remind students of the analogy of a rubber band. We want them to stretch themselves, but just enough, not so much that the “rubber band” would break. Thus far, with our support, all our students have chosen to stay and expressed great pride in meeting the challenge.
Seventh and Eighth-grade students will take at least one extended trip (five to seven days) and two shorter overnight trips during the school year. These excursions away from school will be tied to curricular projects. Since these field trips are curricular in nature, students are expected to attend. If your child is unable to attend a portion of a field trip due to illness or a family emergency, that does not interfere with the entirety of the trip, please note that you will need to make other arrangements for your student, as no class will be held during field trips.
Daylong or brief overnight trips will also be scheduled throughout the year. Information such as dates, locations, and necessary items will be supplied in advance.
Transportation plans will be shared in advance of field trips and outings.
If an injury occurs on a field trip, RPMS will use the nearest available hospital for emergency medical care.
An estimated cost for field trips is charged to families at the beginning of the year. This expense is kept separate from other tuition costs to ensure families are only charged the specific field trip costs. The cost range averages between $900 - $1200 per year and will be billed according to your payment plan.