A co-educational, non-sectarian, independent school serving grades PreK through 8th since 1982

Middle School

Middle School at Almaden Country Day School offers students challenging academics, personalized attention and encouragement from teachers, a choice of more than 30 exciting elective classes, opportunities to work in teams on project- and problem-based activities, and incredible week-long field trips to Yosemite National Park, Catalina Island, and Washington, D.C.

The ACDS Middle School curriculum presents demanding academic core classes enriched by a wide selection of more than 30 popular, high-interest elective courses.

The school day consists of seven 50-minute periods with five core subjects — English language and literature, mathematics, social studies, science and physical education — along with two elective periods.

Throughout Middle School, our dedicated, dynamic teachers share their enthusiasm, love of children, and areas of expertise with the students they serve, challenging them to become critical thinkers and problem-solvers, and to experience the joy of accomplishing challenging academic tasks and projects.

Our Middle School students enjoy diverse co-curricular activities reflecting the school’s emphasis on well-roundedness:

  • After-school intramural sports (flag football, basketball, and track and field for boys; volleyball, basketball, and track and field for girls.)
  • Our “Big Buddy” program pairs middle schoolers with Little Buddies in ECE, Kindergarten, first grade and second grade, fostering leadership skills and creating deep bonds of affection between Buddies;
  • The Service Learning and Leadership elective courses — comprising one of our graduation requirements — introduce students to issues of social justice, class and privilege, cultivating empathy, and leadership;
  • Performing arts electives promote and develop individual talents and passions; and
  • Exciting field trips, overnight excursions and our very popular EDGE Day activities provide firsthand opportunities for our Middle School students to apply their learning, try new and unfamiliar experiences, and develop their confidence.
  • A focus on developing 21st century skills — teamwork, creativity, time management, resilience, curiosity and ethics — and participation in the Mission Skills Assessment, which is a prestigious study group of 90 elite private schools worldwide.

We know that maintaining an open channel of communication between parents and teachers is vital to student success at every grade level -- especially Middle School. One tool we use to facilitate communication is our online student gradebook, providing parents and students with up-to-date access to their academic progress, and allowing direct communication with teachers about the status of specific projects, coursework and assessments.

The Middle School years can be challenging for both boys and girls due to the many developmental changes they experience. The Middle School at ACDS is a safe, welcoming, and stimulating learning environment, where we recognize children for their unique gifts and accept them for who they are. With the support of devoted, talented teachers, a dynamic curriculum with a huge range of offerings to captivate student interests, and a warm spirit of mutual respect and affection that is our culture, Middle School at ACDS fosters happy, confident, well-prepared young men and women who are ready for the world of high school and beyond.