Grades 7 to 8
Middle Years
The middle years, Grades 7 and 8, are a crucial time for academic learning and personal development. Here, students set the stage for their high school careers, developing a stronger sense of individual interests and strengths.
At Canadian Rockies Public Schools (CRPS), Grade 7 and 8 programs often introduce increased academic rigour to prepare students for high school. The curriculum becomes more challenging, and students are taught essential life skills, such as communication, teamwork, critical thinking, and problem-solving, to prepare them for future challenges.
Alongside the core subjects, students can explore their interests in areas like french, fine arts, technology, and Indigenous learning. They also have access to a variety of complementary courses and experiential learning programs, including food basics, construction technology, environmental and outdoor learning, makerspace and design thinking, entrepreneurship, journalism, and more. Through these programs, students discover their passions and potential career paths.
Unique Programming
French Immersion
Students continuing their French Immersion (FI) program in Grades 7 and 8 will attend Lawrence Grassi Middle School in Canmore, before moving on to Canmore Collegiate High School for Grade 9 FI. In the middle years, students continue to hone their French oral and written skills through hands-on activities, co-operative learning experiences, and cultural celebrations. Approximately 20 to 60 per cent of the day is spent learning in French, with the remaining instruction provided in English. It is expected students continuing their immersion in Grade 7 will have attained both English and French listening, oral, comprehension and literacy skills that will ensure they succeed in their secondary level studies.
Outdoor Experiential Learning & Outdoor Pursuits
Each year, the division’s Outdoor Learning Centre teachers provide all middle years students with the opportunity to spend at least one full day at the centre, in addition to walking field trips and learning opportunities outside on school grounds. Curricular outcomes in Grade 8 are brought to life through outdoor experiences such as fire building, wilderness first aid, and cooking bannock. Similarly, curricular outcomes in Grade 7 such as “compare four different wetland ecosystems” and “connect heat and temperature to hyperthermia prevention,” come into focus when students engage in outdoor cooking, learning stories from the land and gain cultural perspectives and ways of knowing, Wilderness First Aid, Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), and fire building. Through the generous support of the Wim and Nancy Pauw Foundation, middle years students also get to participate in cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, swimming, skating, tennis, hiking, and canoeing.