Middle School - School of Logic
Program Overview

Middle School at Christian Heritage School consists of sixth grade through eighth grade students. Transition is probably the best word to describe the Middle School stage in education. Students at this age begin a transition from being children to young adults; from learning mainly through memorization to learning which involves reasoning; and from having one main teacher to several instructors.

What makes CHS Middle School different from other schools? As a classical Christ-centered school, we approach our subjects from a biblical worldview and encourage the development of character as well as academic achievement. Our curriculum includes the core subjects (math, history, science, and English), but also includes two distinctive subjects, logic and Latin.

The classical approach to teaching recognizes the various stages in a child’s development. Students at the Middle School level typically love to question everything and engage in arguments. To teach to this developmental stage, we incorporate logic into our curriculum. This trains the mind to think as well as to recognize and to construct good arguments. Studying logic helps our students think critically and prepares them for English/History (comparing and contrasting, etc.), math (analyzing problems for their solution), and science (deductive reasoning, analysis, etc.).

Middle School students also continue their study of Latin. Latin helps in learning the Romantic languages (French, Spanish, etc.), has a strong influence on the English vocabulary (at least 50% of our English words come from Latin), develops the mental ability to sort and analyze, and makes English grammar easier to learn.

Field trips in Middle School correspond  to our curriculum for each of the grade levels.  Sixth grade history focuses on the Middle Ages, Reformation and Renaissance Periods. To correlate with this study, the students attend Medieval Times in Dallas.  Since science in the sixth grade concentrates on botany and zoology, the students also attend the Institute of Wilderness Studies sponsored by the Pine Cove Christian Camps.
 
Seventh grade students study Texas History, and as part of the curriculum, the students travel to San Antonio for a three-day trip.
 
Eighth grade students begin their two-year study of United States History, and attend museums and a reenactment of the Civil War period.

All sixth grade students learn keyboarding and basic computer operation.  Middle School students also participate in P.E. and may select strings or choir as an elective. Extracurricular activities include volleyball, soccer, basketball, and advanced strings.