by Ava McElhone-Yates ’17
For those middle schoolers who don’t know much about the upper school, or those upper schoolers who never went to the middle school, many questions arise. How does the other school work? What are the classes like?
Most teachers teach either in the upper school or in the middle school, yet there are a handful who teach in both. After prompted with questions regarding the differences between these two places, they came to a conclusion about the main different between the two schools: the middle school has a real sense of community and energy, whereas the upper school can have similar aspects, but more subdued, often resulting in a more productive atmosphere.
“The main difference between the MS (Middle School) and the US (Upper School) is the level of energy at different times of the day” said Mr. Simpson, who teaches Spanish 7 and 8 in the middle school, as well as with Spanish 2 and 4 in the upper school, “MS students tend to be more active in am classes while US students tend to be more active in mid-morning classes”. Mrs. Hill, who teaches Probability and Statistics in the Upper School along with Algebra 8 Honors in the middle school, similarly reported that the middle schoolers often have lots of energy, “always moving around, asking lots of questions, talking, (and) jumping from one idea to another”, while the upper school is more quiet in comparison. She adds that while it can sometimes feel “nice and calm comparatively” it can also feel “as if they’re not enjoying the learning as much”.
Mr. Niedz agrees about these amounts of energy. “ When I am in or teaching in the Middle School there is an abundance of positive energy coming from the students. In the Upper School I see a different kind of positive energy. While it seems more subdued, there is much critical thinking and responding going on.”
New to both the middle school and upper school this year, middle school art and upper school beginning sculpture teacher Ms. Chambers adds that upper schoolers are “able to take their ideas to another level” yet the middle schoolers still “have a sense of magic”.
Overall, the teachers concluded there is not a “better” place, or a “worse” place, they’re just different.
“I love teaching both in the middle and upper school for so many different reasons” chimes in Emily Ditkovski, theater teacher for middle school, and teacher of five different theatre classes in the upper school. She enjoys seeing an interest in theater develop in the middle school, and helping to develop the interest already planted in the upper school. “The experience of fostering [a] new love of theatre with middle school students and finding new ways to challenge seasoned theatre artists in the upper school is what keeps it all exciting for me!” This development is not just limited to theater. Ms. Vezina, English 7, Latin 7 and 8, and upper school Latin 1 teacher, remarks that “Middle School students are often just discovering their own ideas and opinions about themselves and issues larger than their own lives”, which can create “a wonderful and sometimes chaotic energy”. Even without some of the abundance from the middle school, there is still “a wonderful deepening and expanding of student’s ideas which they are developing more independently”.
It’s obvious that the two schools work differently and seem different to those who teach there, but they are also exceedingly similar. Each matches the other with devotion and a sense of community. Each contains students who have differing skills, offering a diverse group of interests and values. Each care about their school, and their passions. Together they have years of opportunities ahead, and worlds full of lives to lead.
