Grades 6-8

Developmentally, sixth grade boys are intellectually mature yet easily influenced. Rather than ask sixth graders to jump headfirst into adolescence in Middle School and follow their teenage seventh and eighth grade classmates, we are eager to capitalize on their growing maturity. For example, they will be afforded the opportunity to serve as leaders of the Lower School, and those opportunities will include capstone projects in academic subjects, public speaking opportunities, and student governance.

The Grade 6 academic program will remain robust with increased offerings in all academic, artistic, and athletic endeavors. A large focus of the school year will include continued study of ethics and wellness, wise decision making, and organizational skills in preparation for Middle School. Please contact admissions@landon.net with questions.

Students arrive between 7:45 and 8 a.m. to catch up with friends or talk with teachers, and classes begin at 8:05 a.m. Landon School has a rotating schedule, so his classes change from day to day. That means he will take subjects at different times each day to experience every class when he is energetic and focused.

To make sure he is ready to learn when he is in the classroom, he will never have more than two classes in a row. In addition to daily recess and lunch to break up classes, he will have study halls, school meetings, an advisory period to meet with advisor and a small group of classmates, and a small-group discussion about ethics, service, and leadership or diversity, equity, and inclusion. Each day ends with athletics from 2:30–3:40 p.m.

The Middle School curriculum is made up of five core academic subjects: English, history, math, science, and a world language (Chinese, French, Latin, or Spanish). He will also take a studio arts class and either meet regularly with a music group (band, chorus, handbells, or strings) or take a theatrical arts class, depending on how he chooses to fulfill the Middle School’s performing arts requirement. There are also health and wellness as well as ethics classes that are part of the schedule.

Landon provides a Microsoft Surface computer to each student for their use at school and at home. 

We understand that every boy learns differently. If he needs extra help, his teachers and the Middle School specialist from our Center for Teaching and Learning Resources will work with you and your son to develop a plan tailored to his strengths and needs so he can improve academically, complete work on time, and develop a sense of confidence in his learning style. 

Our class sizes average 14 students in the Middle School, so he will get to know his classmates well. Recess, lunch, afterschool clubs, and advisory groups offer other ways to meet and bond with other students. Before opening day, he will participate in an orientation to help him get to know other new students. He will also be named to one of eight Bear Teams, made up of approximately 30 students (7–10 from each Middle School grade), and stay on that team throughout his Landon career for our field days, known as "One Landon" Days.

There is time set aside for academic and ethics collaborations with Holton-Arms School. Our Grade 8 students participate in a leadership summit that discusses the qualities and values of being a good leader. Our Grade 7 students and their parents attend a viewing of the documentary Like which discusses good habits around social media. Students from both schools then get together to discuss digital citizenship and  the habits and behaviors that make for healthy social media use. Our Grade 6 students meet with their peers from Holton to address bullying and how to be an upstander. 

Other areas for collaboration include our theater arts program, where students from both schools play roles in productions together, and in athletics, where our swim teams sometimes practice together, for example. 

Our location in Bethesda, close to Washington, D.C., provides so many field trip opportunities, and he will take both day trips and overnight trips to extend classroom learning and have fun with Bear brothers and teacher-coach-mentors.

For example, each grade takes an outdoor adventure trip in the fall where students both bond with one another and learn that they are capable of far more than you know. Grade 6 takes a two-night trip to Echo Hill, Form I does a day trip to Baltimore Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School, and Form II participates in camping, hiking, and environmental education through Experience Learning in West Virginia.

Each spring he will participate in our two-day Mini-Mester program, where you select a course of study that interests him and travel to locations around the D.C. area—including the U.S. Naval Academy, the National Mall, the Spy Museum, the National Air and Space Museum, and Great Falls—to learn outside the classroom. Form II students close out their time in the Middle School with a rafting trip in June. 

Lunch tables are assigned and change every month, with one teacher at each table. This continues for about a month into the school year. Then going forward, there is free seating twice a week.

• Fall: Cross country, football (tackle and flag), soccer, water polo
• Winter: Basketball, ice hockey, squash, street hockey, swimming, wrestling
• Spring: Baseball, golf, lacrosse, tennis, track and field

Landon believes sports help boys learn about the values of perseverance, teamwork, and healthy living. That is why every student participates in athletics every school day. 

While community service is voluntary at Landon, we offer a wide range of opportunities to serve others, and most boys participate in at least one project. The Middle School partners with 17 organizations, and nearly 40 events are usually scheduled. He can work with Special Olympics athletes during basketball games hosted in Landon’s gym, serve meals to the homeless with Thrive DC, help organize household items for families in need at A Wider Circle, or clean up local trails for the good of the environment.

Each year, members of our faculty and staff sponsor several extracurricular clubs that meet before or after the regular school day at no extra cost to families. Clubs, which usually meet once a week, change from year to year. In years past, teachers hosted Math Club, Jazz Band, Junior Bearitones (singing), Strategic Games, Debate Society, and the Multicultural Student Alliance, among others.

One highlight of the year is our Mini-Mester program, when he has a special two-day program on topics ranging from superheroes to spies. He will also bond with Bears from the Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools when they all work together in our One Landon Day program, which includes a field day, service events, and special performances. There are sporting events, school dances, and our annual Azalea Festival with games, food and fun in May.

Landon teacher-coach-mentors will always be there for your son. Those who teach him in the classroom also coach him on the athletics field, advise him on the Student Council, lead after-school clubs, and direct him on the stage.

In addition to teachers, he will have a faculty advisor, a grade-level dean, a dean of students, and a guidance counselor to talk to. He will meet with his advisor several times during the week—both one on one and in groups with other students—to discuss what is happening at school, in his life, or in the world around us.