Our middle school focuses on each student’s journey, their mindset and their unique developmental needs. Students are encouraged to be proud of their progress, ensuring that they experience challenge and success, and continue to know themselves better. We aim to teach students how to accept and learn from mistakes and to appreciate how failure can help them grow intellectually, socially, emotionally and physically.
Middle school presents an amazing opportunity for students to try new things or to continue with sports and interests they already have. Period X is one of the favorite times of the regular instructional day and is scheduled two to three times each week in the afternoon. At each trimester, students self-select from an expansive array of athletic, extra and co-curricular offerings. There are multiple levels of sports teams, ranging from purely recreational to competitive, with some playing games as part of the South Coast Middle School League. Bishop’s abides by a “no-cut” policy. For team sports, all athletes will be on a team based on their skills and experience. The focus is on fundamentals and fun! In addition to competitive sports, Bishop’s offers all middle school students a comprehensive physical education program. There are also Period X offerings each trimester in the arts - like Bishop’s Rocks instrumental music and choir - and academics - such as Junior Model United Nations, robotics and speech and debate.
Bishop’s offers retreats for each grade level. Each experience is different and tailored with students' ages in mind. We retreat at the beginning of the school year because it is a great time to focus on non-academic experiences and help students bond with each other and with their teachers. The concentrated time together outside of the classroom allows students to show a different side of themselves. Shared time together also helps students develop closer and deeper connections with their peers. Positive relationships have been shown to reduce the level of anxiety and depression that people may feel. In addition, time in nature has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety.
In our experience, everyone who participates in our retreats returns to campus with a deeper, better sense of those around them and a renewed enthusiasm for school!