Middle School Life
Middle school life at Canterbury is vibrant, thriving, and filled with
the excitement and variety that middle school students need and desire.
Consistent with our mission, the opportunities available for our students
are geared toward educating the whole child.
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LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: Canterbury provides a distinct array of leadership opportunities for its middle school students. In a K-8 school, middle school students are not in the “middle” of lower and upper school students; instead they take on all vital leadership roles at the school. Canterbury middle school students serve as “family” leaders, student council representatives, chapel buddies, service learning coordinators, acolytes, and scripture readers. They receive essential leadership training in Venture Out, our outdoor education program, and through an 8th grade leadership trip to Wilderness Adventure.
SCHOOL TRADITIONS: Canterbury is rich in meaningful traditions, and middle school students have multiple opportunities to leave their distinct stamp on our school. Students in the Creative Writing elective write the script for the annual Stone Soup play. Eighth grade students create a class banner to lead the Founders’ Day procession, and that banner joins other banners as a permanent fixture in the foyer of Armfield Hall. Each school year concludes with a final chapel for eighth grade students complete with a slideshow of their faces captured over time at Canterbury.
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ADVISORY: Advisory groups, comprised of 7-10 students from the same grade level and one faculty Advisor, meet every morning. This vital small-group time provides a forum for academic communication and enrichment, study hall, social development, and discussion of school or other issues.
TUTORIAL: Every Thursday students meet for a thirty-minute tutorial time in homeroom. Tutorial provides a time to study, to complete assignments, to meet with a teacher, to make-up a test or quiz, or to consult with the Student Support Specialist.
SOCIAL LIFE: Our Student Council and the Canterbury Parents' Association (CPA) work together to provide social activities and events for our middle school students throughout the year. Typically, an informal Fall Social, an evening Winter Dance, a Valentine’s party, a year-end celebration, and a second evening dance sponsored by the Student Council in late spring occur over the course of the year.
SPRING TRIPS: In May, each grade level in the middle school embarks on a different, fun-filled and educational journey to a nearby city. Led by homeroom teachers and additional chaperones, these trips allow students to explore the cultures and characteristics of past and present times, to examine popular culture, to attend plays, to visit museums and other attractions, and to socialize and have fun. Past highlights have included trips to Washington, DC, Atlanta, Charleston, SC, and Colonial Williamsburg.
