Ursuline Academy

The Middle School years are a special time in which young women experience more growth emotionally and socially than at any other time since infancy. Therefore, our teachers devote equal attention to our students’ emerging interpersonal skills and their academic progress. During this time of early adolescence, our students learn to be self-confident and independent in their thinking, while learning to respect the differences in one another.

With the guidance of our experienced faculty, Middle School students are motivated to bring curiosity and critical, analytical, and creative thinking to their course of study, which includes theology, language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and foreign language. Special classes in the Middle School include music, drama, dance, studio art, physical education, and health. In all of these classes, our students are encouraged to work to their fullest potential in anticipation of their college-preparatory curriculum in the Upper School.

The Middle School students use a wide variety of state-of-the-art technology every day, whether it’s advanced calculators in their pre-algebra and algebra classes, laptop computers to publish their writing pieces in language arts classes, or the Internet as a resource for all classes. Using the Sister Catherine Morse Library for research gives our students electronic access to many specialized online databases, as well as to our local libraries and the University of Delaware library.

Through their religion classes, Masses, and retreats, our Middle School students continue to strengthen their own personal faith and spirituality.

There is an individual service-hour requirement for both 7th and 8th grades. Middle School students spend time serving the community and beyond by singing at one of the retirement centers near the school. Each Christmas, they sponsor several families through the ARC Program, and they collect food for homeless shelters throughout the year.

Middle School is a busy time for our students both in and out of the classroom. The students sing in a choral group, play instruments in ensembles and in a band, and participate in various competitive sports. Eighth graders also have the opportunity to compete for a position on the Upper School junior varsity and varsity sports teams.

Middle School students study dance for an entire semester in addition to dance as part of the gym class. The 8th grader learns about modern dance through studying the techniques of Martha Graham and Mark Morris. This style of dance is a marked contrast to ballet, the focus of the 7th-grade dance program. After in-depth study, groups of three or four students create their own ballets, which are videotaped and reviewed by the entire class.

Several of Ursuline’s traditions involve our students and their families in joint activities. In the annual 8th-grade play, our students apply what they have learned in drama class by producing a play for other Ursuline students and their families. In the 8th grade Fair, our students enjoy the Halloween experience by planning and running an event for our Lower School students. On 8th-grade Authors’ Night, students present literary pieces they wrote for language arts class to their friends and families, marking the culmination of their personal writing portfolios.

Middle School is a time of preparation for the eventual demands of the Upper School and a celebration of this special time in each young girl’s life. It is an opportunity for each student to build self-confidence and to learn among friends.