Middle School

Since 1907, SMA has sought to educate students in a nurturing environment based upon Christian values. San Marcos Academy has a long history of excellent academics with a curriculum that builds Christian character and leadership skills.

In the San Marcos Academy Middle School, we are committed to giving our students every opportunity to learn while offering a challenging and rigorous curriculum. This is accomplished in order to establish a firm foundation upon which their future education may be built in the Upper School. Additionally, character is addressed through Christian values and instruction through the Bible.

Your child’s experience in the SMA Middle School will include the following:

6th Grade Curriculum Guide

7th Grade Curriculum Guide

8th Grade Curriculum Guide

Band elective is required for grades 6-7; additional electives (band, visual art, theatre, Math Lab, Keyboarding, Introduction to JROTC) are offered in grade 8
Smart tablets or laptops available for students to check out; additional technology provided in the classrooms
Daily Bible instruction, twice-weekly chapel services
Leadership opportunities provided through Student Council, National Junior Honor Society, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and intro to Junior ROTC
Opportunities for qualified students to compete in state-wide PSIA Academic and Art contests
Optional five-day class trip to Washington, D.C. for 8th grade. (see information below)
Middle School athletic program offers competition through the Christian Athletic League of San Antonio (CALSA) for athletes of all skill levels, developing teamwork and camaraderie
Students in grades 6-8 may attend Middle School social gatherings and dances

Eighth Grade Washington D.C. Trip

Eighth grade students are invited to attend a Washington D.C. Adventure April 22-26, 2019. The trip will include visits to major monuments, Arlington National Cemetery, Mount Vernon, the U.S. Capitol, the White House, the National Archives, the Smithsonian Institution and more.

A hike in the Shenandoah National Park and rafting on the Shenandoah River is also on the agenda. The trip is organized by the Grand Classroom travel company and our president, Dr. Brian Guenther, is the tour director. For more information on the trip, visit the SMA trip website or download the flyer. The initial deposit deadline is October 5, 2018.

Middle School students are expected to perform the following:

Recognize & Imitate Appropriate Behavior

Be Aware of Basic Attitudes & Essential Skills

They Are Increasingly Literate

Recognize Self-Governing Behavior & Quality Work

Conform Behaviors to Prescribed Learning Goals

Gather & Effectively Use New Knowledge

Middle school students will be able to recognize and imitate appropriate behavior in the classroom and dorms

They will normally exhibit basic social skills, such as coping, conflict resolution, communication, obedience to rules, etc. These students are sensitive to cultural differences. They cultivate and maintain a functional social network. They are learning to treat others with respect. In middle school, students rudimentarily communicate with other cultures and groups. They recognize how to communicate as to resolve conflict and persuade others. They properly use words in context, with age appropriate vocabulary. They are able to use basic technology and media to communicate to others.

They learn to become functional students by prescribed standards and structure. They increasingly exhibit what is the good, beautiful, and true. These students internalize the “Golden Rule”, and increasingly accept personal responsibility, and an expanding sense of morality. They aspire to the highest ethical standards, living to the glory of God and serving the betterment of others.

Middle school students are aware of basic attitudes and essential skills necessary to function in the learning community

Middle school students are increasingly literate

They can read and comprehend varied and challenging texts. They can gather and effectively use new knowledge, classify and organize information, support inferences and justify conclusions. They are able to recognize poor grammar, write grammatically correct sentences, paragraphs, and compose accurate essays within and across disciplines. These have a growing vocabulary. They are able to communicate with varied cultures and groups. They are able to use technology and media toward this end.

They will demonstrate developmental progress of striving for academic and personal excellence. The students will increasingly desire to produce quality work.

Middle school students will be able to recognize self-governing behavior and quality work

Middle school students will conform behaviors to prescribed learning goals

They will regularly practice essential organizational skills, recognize quality work and compare it to their own performance, perform directed study habits, function within the academic support system, understand and practice essential study skills, recognize and minimize at-risk attitudes and behaviors.

These students utilize, evaluate, and refine the use of multiple strategies to solve a variety of types of problems. They generate new and creative ideas by taking considered risks in a variety of contexts. They are able to show a rudimentary ability to expand and integrate their knowledge into varied environments. They are able to demonstrate higher taxonomies that integrate their knowledge across the curriculum.