Saint Mark Catholic School Middle School Specials
OBJECTIVE:
To provide an enriching program of diverse courses that enables students to
expand their knowledge and explore various areas of interest. These courses
are designed to comply with and surpass the requirements of the North
Carolina Standard Course of Study. This school year we are implementing a
new specials program to accommodate our growing middle school and continue to
provide a well-rounded educational opportunity for all middle school students
THE STRUCTURE OF SPECIALS:
Students will rotate specials on a three day (A B C) rotation, with the
exception of Physical Education and Guidance. (PE and Guidance will be every
six days.) Some specials will be year long, while others will be one
semester long. Some specials will be required for every student to take,
while some can be decided by the students. Students will be separated by
gender for all specials except Music.
Example:
Monday A
Tuesday B
Wednesday C
Thursday A (D)
Friday B (E)
The following Monday C (F)
( ) indicates the 6 days to help understand the PE/Guidance component.
ADVANTAGES:
- Teachers will be able to see students every third day school day
which will be equivalent to about 30 times a semester
- Students will not be taking as many specials a semester, enabling
their focus to be more centered and developed
- Since teachers and students will meet more frequently and
consecutively the courses will overall be more effective and meaningful to
the students
LIST OF SPECIALS:
Art half year
Drama* half year
Guidance full year
Media Literacy* half year
Music (band, chorus, or guitar) full year
Physical Education full year
Robotics half year
*only available to 8th grade at this time
Since some classes are half year and some are full year, students will have
some classes that they will take take based on the fall and spring semesters.
For example, if your student is taking Art in the fall, he/she will take
Robotics in the spring or vice versa. Students who are in eighth grade have
a unique opportunity to take Media Literacy during the Fall semester, and
will have the option to select between Art, Robotics, and Drama for the
Spring semester.