The NMS Middle School has developed a programme to address the unique learning styles of young students at a crucial stage in their development. It provides a transition from the protective, guided environment of the first programme to the departmentalised high school. It is a programme designed for the unique needs of Middle Grade Scholars.

CURRICULUM

The Middle School works to provide a balance between attention to basics, coverage of necessary skills and knowledge. At this stage students explore a wide variety of interests and experiences. The curriculum is based on a core of courses in English, Mathematics, Social Studies, Science, third language and the arts.

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LANGUAGE ARTS

The Middle School English language arts programme stresses the basic skills of reading, writing, spelling, grammar and vocabulary, as well as creative writing and an appreciation of literature. Fifth grade students read independently and write in journals and various literary formats to develop fluency. Since writing is integral to learning, fourth and fifth graders are encouraged and directly instructed to rethink, rearrange and polish their words.

In the sixth through eighth grades, students read and experience a variety of literary genres. At the same time, all students are taught how to write cogent, clear and precise prose and how to revise and edit their writing using correct usage, punctuation, grammar and spelling.

The English language art programme has assumed exciting new dimensions by integrating technology into the study of language and literature. The 6th grade explores a literary piece through computer programmes designed to highlight the changes, analyse texts, reveal the numerous illustrations included in editions over the years.

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SOCIAL STUDIES

The Middle School  social studies programme strives to familiarise students with the basic tools, vocabulary, and skills of the social scientist, and to make students aware of different ideas and cultures around the world, past and present. The programme encourages students to address a question, "How do we know about the past?" Through the curriculum, they learn that new discoveries by archaeologist, scientists, and historians change our view of history and that historical understanding matures and evolves.

The integration of technology makes the exploration of the world an interactive process.

The fourth grade students explore the various formations of the clouds with the help of specialised multimedia programmes prepared by the teachers, while the sixth graders investigate the ancient civilizations.

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MATHEMATICS

Through the Middle School Maths program, students develop concepts of number, geometry and measurement and establish skills in algebraic computation. The curriculum also provides experience in problem solving. The goal is for students to calculate accurately and to be able to assess whether their answers are reasonable. Students discover the relationship between logical, numerical and spatial concepts. Students learn through manipulation and by examination of the effects on the physical world. Learning is structured around the problem and the methods used to solve it and includes the study of lines and angles, closed plane figures, circles and triangles, ratios and proportions, analytic geometry, simultaneous equations, functions etc.

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SCIENCE

Middle School students are exposed to the major disciplines in the sciences to provide increased understanding of the world around them and how their bodies work. The science programme is geared to provide students with the basic skills of scientific methodology.

Students use the computer as a tool, to pursue a study of food webs, motion and growth, and the structure of matter.

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