Harrington Middle School will have new elective courses for the 2013–2014 school year. The classes will be offered for the full year and will allow both the seventh- and eighth-grade students to engage in a variety of experiences from orchestra to forensic investigation.
“These new educational initiatives at Harrington will greatly enhance our programs in both seventh and eighth grade,” principal Kathleen Haines said.
The school discussed the new classes at the most recent board of education meeting and distributed the syllabus to students and parents by mail.
The new elective classes for seventh grade students are challenge-based learning, I-publish, inventive and creative thinking, band and orchestra.
In challenge based learning students are responsible for selecting the topic they will research. Anything from global warming to local relief efforts. They can work with partners or independently to research the topics that peak their interest and seek solutions.
I-publish will allow students to create original articles or stories and work to have them published in magazines, online or other forms of media.
Kids are taught to make contact with magazine and newspaper editors as well as publishing companies to interview and ask questions about the publication process.
Inventive and creative thinking inspires students to invent their own product, forcing students to work together and problem-solve creatively.
Both seventh and eighth grade classes will have the opportunity to take orchestra or band classes but they are required to already have at least one year experience studying an instrument.
Eighth grade students can dive into the world of “CSI.” No need to call the school, parents, it is not a class to strictly watch television. The kids will reconstruct a fictional crime scene and use the evidence available to analyze the case.
Show Me The Money will teach students how to compare costs in a real-life, daily experience. The goal of the class is to prepare kids not only for experiences such as buying a home, but also for becoming an entrepreneur.
Students in eighth grade can also choose to take an introduction to French or Spanish.
Students will be asked to select their top choice and an alternate choice in the event that their first choice course is filled.
Those students who scored 190 or below on the NJASK test will be automatically scheduled into basic skills reading or math rather than one of the elective courses outlined above.
“I’m looking forward to welcoming our new families and our returning students to this expanded curriculum,” Haines said.
