Hours: 8:15am - 3:15pm

2008-2009 Annual Tuition: $15,965

Michaelangelo died at eighty-five, leaving an unfinished sculpture and a drawing near where he was found. The drawing was actually a caricature of himself as an old man. Next to the sketch were the words, "Still learning".

On his deathbed, Leonardo was asked how he felt. He replied, "A day well spent makes it sweet to sleep. A life well used makes it sweet to die."

As the seventh grade children enter puberty, they are also adventuring across a basic threshold experience on their way to selfhood. Can they enter this dark unknown territory carrying a flaming torch to allow discovery as they wander and probe? Can they spend their time productively bearing in mind that others behind them also need their light? If their spirit of inquiry and creativity in a social context can be fostered in puberty, they will surely find it sweet to enter adulthood. If it isn't fostered, they may stumble endlessly in the darkness, burdened by excess baggage of self-centeredness, criticism and chaotic emotions.

To help them cross this threshold, we present a rich panorama designed to take them to civilizations and people who share their mood of soul, as well as lead them to a closer look at each one's own environment and inner being. Two subjects addressing these areas are English and history.

The history block of the Renaissance and Reformation really begins modern time with a dauntless quest into the unknown which is also akin to the seventh grader's soul mood. Allegiance to traditional authority no longer holds sway. Individualism, as personified by Joan of Arc, overcomes feudalism. Human capacities are limitless, as epitomized by Leonardo Da Vinci. As with the true spirit of the Renaissance, the only boundaries acknowledged are boundaries to be crossed. The teacher must be like Pope Julius II was to Michaelangelo - he must present a continuing challenge worthy of the artist's efforts. Here the student realizes the individual can not only make a difference, but can create a new world if one's conviction is strong enough. As this historical period was an age of doubt that followed the unquestioning faith of the Middle Ages, so too adolescents need to find things out for themselves. Their doubt of authority and resistance mark a giant step toward self re-creation and individual thinking. Birth in the Renaissance parallels birth in their thinking, feeling and willing.

The English block of "Wish, Wonder, and Surprise" certainly involves creative writing and literature, but its horizons extend much further. It is designed to bring consciousness, balance and refinement to the adolescent's emotional life. But what is meant by wish, wonder and surprise? It is seen how personal a wish is, how it comes from deep within and goes toward the outer world. Wonder comes from a meeting between one's inner and outer worlds, and surprise really originates outside and impresses itself upon the individual. It becomes evident that a variety of styles can be employed to convey specific feelings accurately. Bringing consciousness here can also bring confidence and a sense of liberation.

Mechanics begins in physics with the lever principle as found in the human arm. From their experimentation, the children learn the basic mechanical concepts and their application in the machinery of ancient and modern times.

Organic chemistry is introduced as a study of the combustion process. With the beautiful legend of the bringing of fire to earth by Prometheus and a study of combustion in the human organism (the digestive processes), fire can be observed externally in the breaking down of substances by oxidation. Physiology is introduced as the study of life processes in man: blood circulation, respiration, reproduction, and nutrition in connection with digestion health and hygiene.

World Geography, which now runs parallel to the history units, takes up the theme of adventurous exploration and covers the whole globe. The children's knowledge of astronomy is called upon to further their understanding of climate, tides, and other influences on cultural and economic life of the peoples of the earth.

Mathematics introduces algebra, including negative numbers, and venturing into mathematical thinking that has no relation to physical perceptions. This makes real demands on the child's imaginative powers. Square and cube root and ratio are introduced. Geometrical perspective and black and white drawing are continued in more complex forms.

Acapella singing, madrigals, ballads and Renaissance music are introduced. Recorder continues. Eurythmy explores poems with contrast, wonder and surprise, and ballads with quick dramatic movement, drama and tragedy. In Handwork, the children sew hand puppets or slippers and learn embroidery. Carving and clay modeling continue.

Through this journey, it is most essential that the child has a close friend, and secondly, adults who are enthusiastically saying "yes" to the world.

Service projects can be strongly affirmative. Beneath growing layers of negativism, the child must say "yes" to himself. This means courage when there's a tendency to withdraw. But as one historian noted, "If Columbus had turned back, no one would have blamed him, but no one would have heard of him either".

Curriculum: End of Middle Ages, Joan of Arc; Age of Exploration, The Renaissance; European and world geography; physics (mechanics), physiology, inorganic chemistry, and nutrition; composition, grammar, spelling, literature; arithmetic and algebra.