Middle School Electives and Extracurriculars


Students Learn Best When They Are Given Choices


Choice is fundamental to Nueva’s student-centered pedagogy, and middle school students have a voice in choosing where to dive deeply in many areas of their education. Choices abound for Nueva middle school students, and as they grow, they take increasing ownership of their academic experience. Our extensive electives, clubs, and extracurricular offerings give them a lot of freedom to explore topics that interest them.

Beginning in fifth grade, students choose electives courses from a wide range of topics. Seventh- and eighth-graders also have an opportunity to choose their physical education elective. Offerings have included dancing, hiking, rock climbing, yoga, strength and conditioning, racquet sports, and even an off-site squash class.

Click here to learn more about middle school clubs.

 

Electives

Electives provide students with significant choice and an intellectual toolkit, framing questions using multiple approaches to understanding complex phenomena.

Each course explores contemporary issues across a variety of disciplines, engaging our students in compelling deep-dives to foster our students wonder and curiosity as catalysts for authentic, inquiry-based learning. 

Example of Electives Offerings

Cast members of Newsies perform on stage.

“My Economics: A Study of Choices electives class was so engaging for me. We learned through hands-on, game-based activities. The model/simulation of a flashlight market demonstrated the concept of a perfectly competitive market, which was better than reading articles.”

– Christine Z. '24


Extracurriculars

There are a variety of after-school and enrichment opportunities for Middle School students. These extracurriculars students allow students to pursue an activity they are passionate about outside of school hours. A subset of clubs meet after school and our Nueva Enrichment program offers students the chance to take a deep dive into a specialized area of study.

Examples of Extracurriculars

 

Science Club students simulate Einstein's theory of gravity.