Sixth Grade: Coming into Her Own

As girls enter JMSG, they are invited to discover and express their authentic selves within a safe community. Intentionally-designed programs like RISE: Resilience, Identity, Self-Awareness, Empathy and advisory provide opportunities for girls to connect and speak openly, allowing them to share more of their whole selves at school each day. The class STARS: Skills for Achieving Real Success ensures all girls develop the fundamental academic attitudes and habits they need to flourish in our learning community. Just as importantly, the warm and connected culture of JMSG—from the whole school singing a song of welcome to the new sixth graders on the first day to teachers going by their first names—teaches girls that they will be seen and embraced for who they are when they walk through the front door and who they will become as they grow into adolescence.

Sixth graders, like all JMSG students, lead their own report card conferences which JMSG pioneered in the founding years of the school. Every fall and spring, girls guide their parents through their trimester report cards, sharing the direct feedback they’ve received from teachers as well as their own assessments of their growth. Over time, this instills a routine of reflection and goal-setting that is a hallmark of the JMSG student’s approach to learning. Near the end of the year, the entire class performs in the annual sixth grade play, and girls make a significant leap in their confidence with training and coaching on their stage presence. The play wraps, and the last month of school sees a class of girls who stand taller and more at ease in their community, ready for the fresh challenges of seventh grade.

Art

Visual art in sixth grade focuses on building visual literacy, the creative process, and development of technical skills in a variety of media. Student artists have opportunities to express themselves in drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, and textiles. We study how artists apply the elements of art, such as Charlie Harper’s use of line and Jessica Hess’ use of hue, tint, and shade, and create our own works that highlight these elements. Studio projects correlate with topics studied in other classes, refer to art from diverse cultures, and expose students to classical and contemporary artists. Our end-of-the-year art show exhibits work by every student.

Humanities

In sixth grade humanities, each girl is a vital participant bringing her unique perspective to our study of literature, history, and culture. In this project-based class, academic skills are taught in the context of real-world challenges that empower girls to apply and extend their knowledge outside of the classroom. Girls approach ancient world history as social scientists, investigating the problems that our ancestors faced and connecting their struggles to our modern world. Historical thinking skills such as evaluating the reliability of information and corroborating evidence are at the core of the program, with an emphasis on how to use critical thinking in pursuit of social justice. Projects embrace a variety of learning approaches, with an emphasis on group work and audio-visual communication. Through these projects they learn to write in a range of informational genres, with a focus on writing a thesis statement and developing an argument in multiple paragraphs. Meanwhile, in Reader’s and Writers’ Workshop, girls develop a lifelong love of reading and writing by practicing close reading, journaling about literary analysis, and then applying literary techniques in their own creative writing. Girls practice the writing process regularly so that developing written work in layers becomes an intrinsic habit. Grammar and writing mechanics are taught in the context of the writing process as well as in distinct lessons.

Math

The sixth grade math curriculum is intended to build students’ confidence in working with basic operations of decimals, fractions, and integers, and introduce girls to algebra and geometry concepts and skills. The course is designed for students of various math backgrounds and provides challenge and encouragement to all. The girls develop a conceptual understanding of mathematics, facilitated through classroom activities, explorations, challenges, discussions, and projects. Everyday applications of math will be highlighted, stressing the importance of not only learning each skill, but understanding the hows and whys of mathematical reasoning. Upon completion of this class, students will be prepared for a seventh grade pre-algebra course.

Music

The music program at Julia Morgan School for Girls is aimed at bolstering our four Cs—creativity, confidence, compassion, and capability—while teaching valuable skills such as performance, communication, and teamwork. The sixth grade music appreciation class curriculum provides a general overview of music history and theory through games, play, and practice. The students are active in class, singing, dancing, percussing with bodies, and playing xylophones. Each sixth grader gets a ukulele, which we use to learn the basic elements of music. Through listening exercises, students learn to appreciate and distinguish various genres of music, and to recognize different instruments. A jazz unit exposes girls to some of the greats, and a modern music evolution unit begins to unravel how music has changed over the last century in this country. The culmination of their study is the sixth grade play, in which the whole grade works together to put on a masterpiece for the community!

Physical Education

The mission of the Athletics program at Julia Morgan School is to inspire and challenge girls of all physical talents and interests to develop confidence, flexibility, strength, endurance, mental discipline, coordination, balance, and skill. The purpose of the sixth grade physical education program is to expose students to a variety of physical activities throughout the school year. Girls are provided the opportunity to grow into their bodies in a supportive environment that encourages participation and places an emphasis on fun. Units for this program may include team building, strategy games, sports, fitness, creative modern dance, and yoga.

RISE - Resilience, Identities, Self Awareness & Empathy

JMSG supports girls in developing their emotional intelligence and social skills through a weekly social and emotional learning class. The goal of RISE is to provide an atmosphere of trust within our community of girls, in which they can learn essential life skills, voice their feelings in a productive and safe way and hear those feelings acknowledged by peers and teachers. RISE encourages girls to explore their choices, develop a strong sense of self, recognize similarities, and respect each other’s differences. Drawing on a combination of discussion, role-playing, videos, hands-on activities, and guest speakers, the classes will cover a number of relevant topics, including communication, diversity, gender, body image, sex education, and mental health. While topics may be similar in each grade, the RISE curriculum uses developmentally age-appropriate materials for each grade level.

Spanish

Whether girls are native speakers, have taken a Spanish class before, or are completely new to language study, sixth grade Spanish is often their first experience communicating in a language-immersion classroom. While students get accustomed to using Spanish to communicate their thoughts, the course also helps them establish skills for language learning and use what they already know to examine new Spanish grammar and vocabulary. As girls have fun with stories, songs, and dialogues, they are introduced to the diverse cultures found within the Spanish-speaking world.

STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art/Design, Math)

STEAM is a hands-on, cross-discipline class involving science, technology, engineering, art/design, and math. The course encourages collaboration and innovation, while developing communication and problem-solving skills. The sixth grade curriculum focuses on Earth science and environmental design. Projects include building an earthquake-proof structure, designing windmill blades to maximize efficiency, using the Scratch program to create a video game, and building rockets. Through project-based learning, students are exposed to STEAM-related career opportunities. Students explore the fields of environmental engineering, electrical engineering, and structural engineering.

Workflow

Workflow is the 6th grade academic preparation class that equips students with the essential skills to make a successful transition from elementary school to middle school. This weekly class offers important basic skills necessary for students to navigate their new schedules, become confident with technology, and learn to advocate for themselves as learners. As the year progresses, this class collaborates with core subject academic teachers so that students begin to practice their skills in real time. Workflow and Tech provides organizational techniques including homework strategies, daily routines, tech skills, communication with teachers, and self-reflection.