Academics
Nativity Prep is a school with high standards for academics and character. These are not just lofty ideals – we expect everyone involved with Nativity Prep to live by strict guidelines for learning and behavior. Our students are not just polite and disciplined; they are also hard workers who follow a rigorous academic program. To learn more Nativity’s academic program, click on the above links.
Grades 5 through 8 will be required to take the following courses for the number of class periods indicated:
The top five courses (Language Arts, Reading, Math, Science and Social Studies) are considered “academic subjects” and are described below.
Reading/Language Arts
During their four years of attendance, Nativity students are expected to achieve a degree of English proficiency that exceeds state standards for their grade level. They are asked to demonstrate an ability to retain concepts from reading, analyze passages for main ideas, grasp and apply grammatical rules, employ critical thinking skills to make inferences, abstract from concrete material, memorize and retain new vocabulary, write with clarity and precision, and utilize their creativity when working on individual or class projects. The English Curriculum works to address these expectations by dividing the double period into three substantial areas: Reading, Vocabulary, and Grammar.
We want students at Nativity to develop a belief in their own ability, to garner a love for literature and a compassion for the experiences of the human animal. We want students to thrive on their own inquisitive energy, to develop a self-respect and confidence through hard work, and to express themselves openly in a creative environment. We want them to understand that true success is not a measure of income or material possession, but an endless effort to improve oneself. We want each and every student to leave Nativity Prep with more wisdom of the world than he possessed when he entered the doors. We want the typical student to cherish memories of intense exploratory discussions, to recall the spark of animation that awakened him to interest, and to translate his experiences at Nativity into an energy that will propel him to a life of learning.
Mathematics
In grades five through eight, students are expected to achieve proficiency in basic skills, develop critical thinking skills and reasoning ability, and to learn procedures and methodologies to solve problems in order to prepare them for a rigorous secondary school program.
Students should be able utilize good methodologies to solve problems. A structured approach to solving problems helps students to organize and sequence strategies. This becomes critical when more complex multi-step problems are introduced in advanced math courses. As they learn step-writing skills appropriate to each level of mathematics, they apply them to solving more complex problems. The outcome is greater accuracy and a growing confidence in their ability to solve challenging problems.
Students should learn to ‘grapple’ with challenging new material with growing confidence in their problem solving ability. To achieve this outcome, new concepts are taught through an investigative process as much as possible. Students generate or review data, describe patterns they discover, and try to formulate mathematical rules. This growing ‘ownership’ of learning increases confidence and encourages them to solve problems more independently. As much as possible, teachers should become facilitators of student learning and students need to become more involved in that process. Increasingly, students work through problems in small groups with teachers posing the right questions to lead them to a more complete understanding of mathematical concepts. Students will be able to retain the information better and apply it to new problem solving situations more effectively when they have learned it through this discovery approach. Students should be able to apply estimating skills to evaluate their use of strategies and procedures in various problem solving situations. Estimating skills are taught at every level of mathematics and reinforced frequently. Students are encouraged to think about mathematics outside the classroom with a bi-monthly “Math Challenge” question. All students are encouraged to participate in this extracurricular activity. Its purpose is to develop logical thinking skills in combination with simple mathematical concepts to solve problems.
Science
The overall purpose of the science department is to advance each student’s understanding of scientific principles and concepts. Fifth graders study general science, learning concepts from many fields including: botany, chemistry, physics, geology, astronomy, and biology. The sixth grade focuses on Earth Science: geology, meteorology, oceanography, and astronomy. The seventh grade studies Life Science: biology, zoology, and botany. The eighth grade studies Physical Science: physics and chemistry.
Science classes are also a place of social learning, where heavily debated topics like natural resource conservation and energy dependency can be brought to the table from the perspective of science. Students are encouraged to think about science outside the classroom with a bi-monthly “Science Challenge” question.
Social Studies
During their four years of attendance, Nativity students are expected to achieve a degree of proficiency in Social Studies that exceeds state standards for their grade level. They are asked to demonstrate an ability to retain concepts from reading, analyze passages for main ideas, employ critical thinking skills to make inferences, abstract from concrete material, memorize and retain historical facts, write with clarity and precision, and utilize their creativity when working on individual or class projects. During fifth grade students study a general survey of American History. In the sixth grade the focus turns to Ancient and Classical Civilizations. In the seventh grade the curriculum builds on Ancient History with a broad study of Global Civilizations and Cultures. Finally, in the eighth grade, students return to a thorough and critically-engaged study of American History, which addresses events from early exploration to the 20th Century.
We seek to develop in each student the skills necessary to take notes from oral lectures, outline lessons in the text, identify main ideas in passages, write about history and contemporary politics, speak in public, think rationally, and discuss issues intelligently. Indeed, the curriculum is not limited to specialized historical studies. We stress the importance of incorporating current affairs and contemporary issues into the class structure. Students are often required to report on events in the news or deliver a presentation about an important aspect of the world – globalization, the stock market, a political election, or a world religion. We hope that students leave Nativity with the ability and desire to formulate independent opinions about political issues at large in the world today. As such, we encourage teachers to stage classroom debates as often as possible. We also engage seventh and eighth graders in the Bristol County Mock Trial Competition, and require all students to complete vacation reading and a thoroughly-involved Social Studies Fair research project in the spring.
8th Grade:
1st half of the year: Political Novels
-Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
-Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
-Animal Farm, by George Orwell
-Monster, by Walter Dean Myers
2nd half of the year: Classics
-Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens
-The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
-Macbeth, by William Shakespeare
-A Separate Peace, by John Knowles
Social Studies: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Science: October Sky, by Homer Hickam
7th Grade:
1st half of the year: Coming-of-Age Novels
-Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
-To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
-Parrot in the Oven, by Victor Martinez
-A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry
2nd half of the year: War Novels
-Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane
-All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque
-Night, by Elie Wiesel
-Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Myers
Social Studies: Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe
Science: The Island of Dr. Moreau, by H.G. Wells
6th Grade:
1st half of the year: Newbery Award-Winning Novels
-Holes, by Louis Sachar
-Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred D. Taylor
-A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle
-The Giver, by Lois Lowry
2nd half of the year: Adventure Novels
-So Far From the Bamboo Grove, by Yoko Kawashima Watkins
-The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster
-Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson
-The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain
Social Studies: Detectives and Togas. by Henry Winterfield
Science: Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O’Dell
5th Grade:
1st half of the year: Reading Comprehension
-Dreamchasers: A Collection of Stories by Various Authors
-The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis
2nd half of year: Introduction to the Novel
-The Twenty-One Balloons, by William Paene Du Bois
-Call it Courage, by Armstrong Sperry
-The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs, by Betty Birney
-Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, by Robert C. O’Brien
-The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , by L. Frank Baum
-The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin
-Number the Stars, by Louis Lowry
Social Studies: Dear Austin: Letters from the Underground Railroad, by Elvira Woodruff
Science: James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl
Summer Reading List
8th grade:
-Moves Make the Man, by Bruce Brooks
-Mississippi Trial: The Story of Emmett Till, by Chris Crowe
-Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
7th grade:
-Let the Circle Be Unbroken, by Mildred D. Taylor
-The Call of the Wild, by Jack London
-Revenge of the Whale, by Nathaniel Philbrick
6th grade:
-The Cay, by Theodore Taylor
-Dear Levi: Letters from the Overland Trail, by Elvira Woodruff
-Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White
5th grade:
-Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
-Maniac Magee, by Jerry Spinelli
Fun Night
Every student is invited to participate in “Fun Night” at school on Friday evenings. At Fun Nights, Nativity faculty members play games and conduct activities with the students, giving the boys an opportunity to relax and get to know each other in a purely social setting free of academic pressures. Also, the Student Council will be designated to plan special Fun Nights with various themes, including sports competition and musical performances.
Field Trips
Nativity Prep field trips, scheduled for most Saturdays during the school year, are designed to add cultural, educational, and community service elements to the program. These trips introduce students to educational and historical sites, monuments and cultural institutions in the area, and give them opportunities to become involved in service work. They are designed to offer a learning experience in which students and members of the community can build ties of friendship and Nativity spirit together. All field trips provide an active learning experience for each student that reinforces classroom instruction with hands-on activities. Recently we have visited the Fuller Craft Museum to view socially conscious modern art, the Museum of Science, and the New Bedford Whaling Museum. More adventure oriented trips include rock climbing, nature hikes, mountain biking, as well as a trip to an interactive Egyptian tomb adventure in Boston.
While most field trips are optional, every student is required to take part in designated community service field trips, which occur once a quarter for each grade level. Part of Nativity’s mission is to reinforce an awareness that much has been given to Nativity students and faculty, and that much is therefore expected of them in return, through service to others in the community. Service trips range from cleaning up the local shoreline to Operation Clean Sweep to cooking for bake sales.