Leadership Emerges in Oak Knoll’s Intermediate Grades 5-6 Program
At Oak Knoll, we believe the best way to ensure a successful middle school experience is through exceptional preparation in grades 5 and 6. Our coed intermediate program helps students develop the confidence, emotional maturity, and independent motivation they need to thrive in upper grades and beyond.
Fifth- and sixth-grade students embrace personal responsibility and academic integrity as they discover new interests, grow their faith, build critical thinking skills, and mature into conscientious young adults who make meaningful contributions to society. We welcome your child to spend these formative years with us.
Oak Knoll’s Challenging Intermediate Program
As students mature into young women and men, our intermediate program challenges them to take on leadership roles in the classroom and through clubs, sports, and service. Grades 5 and 6 prepare students for success through:
Annual Traditions
Fifth- and sixth-graders star in the Spring Arts and Music Festival, enjoy a trip to MoMath Museum in NYC, and take part in the Sixth Grade Graduation Mass and Liturgy.
Intramural & Interscholastic Athletics
Students can compete in several athletic programs each season, such as basketball, boys’ soccer, girls’ field hockey, boys’ baseball, and girls’ lacrosse.
Mentorship Program
Grade 5 mentors connect with grade 1 students for a monthly lunchtime discussion and an interactive activity (such as a scavenger hunt!) based on one of the Lower School’s values.
Leadership Institute
This sixth-grade program prepares students to excel in middle school by exploring and creating opportunities for leadership. The all-day Sixth-Grade Leadership Retreat is just one of the program’s highlights!
Liturgical Ministries
Sixth-graders shine as Lower School leaders by serving the community on selected ministry teams, such as Altar Servers, Decorators, Hospitality Team, Lectors, Liturgical Dancers, Dramatists, and Musicians.
Technology-Enhanced Learning
Students learn in technologically enhanced classrooms with tools that facilitate richer individual and collaborative learning experiences, such as 3D printing, block coding, augmented reality, and more.
EDUCATIONAL GOALS
- Improve ability to distinguish between fact and opinion
- Expand student vocabulary
- Make inferences and draw conclusions
- Engage in hands-on activities and critical thinking discussions
- Develop new strategies for research, note-taking, organizing content, and studying
Experiential Learning
- Fifth- and sixth-grade students write, create, direct, and produce their own commercials.
- Sixth-graders participate in leadership retreats, mini-leadership lessons throughout the school day, advisory lunches, and hallway huddles.
- In sixth grade, students can run for elected office on the Executive Board of the Student Council.
- Fifth and sixth-grade students participate in annual retreats, where they spend half-days at an off-campus location, reflecting on life, faith, and their place in the world.
- The fifth-grade class travels to serve and learn at the Morris County Interfaith Food Pantry, where they learn about food insecurity.
Intermediate Grades Curriculum
Our challenging fifth- and sixth-grade curriculums help students build on the skills they attained in lower grades by analyzing material in deeper ways, writing well-researched papers, and mastering the time management and study skills that will be critical in upper grades.
