Middle School

The Middle Years Program (MYP): Grades 6 - 8

Middle school is a critical time in every young person's life. As a parent, you can feel the changing seasons as your child starts to think about their future and what they hope to accomplish. It's no secret that their journey toward independence can cause some growing pains. This is why middle school is the prime time to be even more intentional about choosing a school environment. Where and how your student spends their day matters!

At Daystar Academy, we cultivate a positive culture where middle school students thrive academically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually. Below you'll find an overview of what we offer, including high expectations, individual attention, exciting trips, extracurriculars, and more.

Our School Culture
Words from a Parent
What Sets Us Apart
A Safe Environment
About the IB Program

To learn more about our program schedule a tour

Our School Culture

An Atmosphere for Healthy Growth

Daystar is a deliberately diverse community where students are engaged, curious, and creative learners. Our teachers and staff intentionally build relationships with each middle schooler, ensuring they feel a sense of security and belonging. We understand how the mind of a middle schooler works and help them mature through the following:

A Non-Competitive Approach to Student Achievement: The International Baccalaureate grading system measures individual growth rather than growth compared to others. This creates a non-competitive environment and results in greater psychological health, social competence, and self-esteem.
Small Class Sizes: We keep our classes small so that students can access their teachers, and so that teachers can differentiate instruction based on unique learning styles. Teachers celebrate student differences and provide individual attention, coaching them to take risks without fear and reach their potential.
Spiritual Growth Through Discipleship: We don't use the Bible as a textbook or in a single class, instead looking at the world around us through the lens of God's truth. Middle schoolers participate in regular chapel and discipleship groups. Service and reflection are key elements to faith development at Daystar.
A Healthy Approach to Discipline: Middle schoolers are exploring, discovering, and learning about life as they mature. We know that mistakes are inevitable and utilize "Responsive Classroom" strategies to help students feel seen, heard, and understood. This approach allows us to address misbehavior in a way that is restorative rather than punitive.
Student Support: Highly personalized counseling services provided by our Student Support Services team are designed to align with our global view of learning, empowering students to be a part of the solution as we provide guidance across a wide range of areas - academically, socially, and emotionally.

From our parents:

"For my middle schooler, and by extension for our family, having the constant presence of faculty members who know and value her for who she is has made a huge impact. Daystar stays true to its commitment to providing her with a unique and innovative curriculum while never forgetting that her personal growth is more important than anything she might produce. And the beauty is that it ultimately empowers her to do her very best work." -Kathleen D.

What Sets Us Apart

An IB World School

As a fully authorized International Baccalaureate World School, we implement the IB Middle Years program, which focuses on eight subject areas that are constantly intersecting.

Subject areas include:

Language & Literature
Individuals & Societies
Science
Physical Education & Health
Language Acquisition
Math
Design
Art

In addition, the IB Learner Profile informs our commitment to helping students build strong character, serve those in need, and transform the world around them.

Enriched Learning

A variety of extracurricular activities are available to middle schoolers - student council, yearbook staff, and a variety of athletic teams including volleyball, soccer, basketball, cross country, and track and field. Club offerings are driven by student interest, and have included photography, knitting, cooking, fitness, film club, drum line, Lego robotics, and more.

Learning Excursions

Learning excursions are valuable at every age, but middle schoolers especially enjoy the sense of adventure that off-site learning brings. Students take 10-15 trips a year, exploring educational sites around the city and linking what they are learning to the real world. A few favorites include:

Visiting Star Farm, a resilient food hub that empowers local women, youth, and people with disabilities as part of a commitment to nurturing all generations of growers and food sovereignty leaders. It's part of learning to be a good neighbor and caring for God's people.
Exploring the Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie as part of a comprehensive study of A Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. Lessons from the past inform the future, and help students to engage in current events with care and concern.
Traveling to Indiana Dunes for an overnight trip to build community and foster relationships with peers. Students camp, cook, hike, and laugh together around a campfire. This strengthens their connections on campus and helps them harness their power of community.
Taking to the streets in the Pilsen neighborhood (rich in Latino culture) to find and discuss murals and enrich Spanish-speaking skills. Students explore murals depicting cultural norms, historical contexts, and artistic freedom, and then engage in lively discussion around them in Spanish.

High School Prep

Middle school is all about empowering students to take on new challenges as they move to high school and beyond. With a strong emphasis on executive functioning skills, we help middle schoolers manage their time, balance their school work with extracurricular activities and social lives, and develop strong study habits. Each day has a daily Study Support period where students can access their teachers for help with homework or work together to get their work done.

A Safe Environment

Middle schoolers learn best within a strong community where they feel a sense of security. We go above and beyond to make sure students and parents have peace of mind each day. Our facility safety measures exceed state regulations, and every staff member is thoroughly background checked. Daystar's campus has a formidable exterior (double sets of locked doors, surveillance cameras, etc.) so that the interior is safe for age-appropriate levels of autonomy.

Our campus is strategically located in the South Loop neighborhood of Chicago, adjacent to Lake Michigan and accessible by all major expressways and DuSable Lake Shore Drive. Families from all over Chicago and the surrounding area can easily access our school. Daystar families come from nearly every Chicago zip code and several suburbs!

About the International Baccalaureate Program

The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programs of international education and rigorous assessment. These programs encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

See for Yourself

Schedule an on-campus tour and see first-hand why families choose Daystar Academy. If you have questions about the admissions process or our program, please contact us at admissions@daystaracademy.org.

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Additional Resources

Coursework

In the IB Middle Years Program there are eight subject areas that are constantly intersecting as students learn throughout the program. Students are introduced to the concept of grouping their learning around these subjects in 6th grade and follow this idea through middle school and into high school in 9th and 10th grade.

Middle Years Program Subject Overviews

Language & Literature

Language and Literature:

Language acquisition courses focus on interpersonal, interpretive and presentational competence while fostering cultural understanding. Our curriculum aligns with Illinois Foreign Language Learning Standards within the MYP IB Language Acquisition framework. While developing language skills through the study and use of a myriad of written and spoken material, students explore the culture(s) connected to it. Materials extend from everyday written and oral exchanges to texts which relate to the culture(s) concerned. Through their studies, students build the necessary and appropriate skills to read, write, speak and listen at the level that will be assessed through their receptive, productive and interactive skills. Spanish is offered to all students, meeting them at their specific proficiency level with relevant and on level learning materials.

MYP Assessment Criteria

Individuals & Societies

Individuals and Societies:

MYP Individuals and Societies encourages learners to respect and understand the world around them and equips them with the necessary skills to inquire into historical, contemporary, geographical, political, social, economic, religious, technological and cultural factors that have an impact on individuals, societies and environments. We will continuously consider local and global contexts. The study of individuals and societies helps students to appreciate critically the diversity of human culture, attitudes and beliefs. We hope to foster in each student a lifelong interest in the human story.

MYP Assessment Criteria

Science

Science:

MYP science students move through a 3 year rotation of physical science, earth/space science and life science. Using the Next Generation Science Standards and the IB-MYP science objectives as a guide, students explore the created order through unit studies in that year’s science discipline. The program is designed to introduce scientific content through hands-on experience and inquiry, allowing students to gain an understanding of the laws God has established to govern creation, recognize how creation is intricately interdependent and make responsible and service-oriented choices when using Earth’s resources. Classroom and onsite investigations engage students in developing hypotheses, making observations, collecting and interpreting data and discussing results, as well as other skills essential for the development of scientific literacy. Special effort is made to observe and study the natural world and technological innovation at close range. To this end, learning excursions are taken to places that provide a variety of opportunities for students to interact with ecosystems, plants and animals as well as places where students can observe scientific principles at work. In the past some of these places have included Lake Michigan beaches, Chicago parks, the Brookfield or Lincoln Park Zoo, Shedd Aquarium, the Garfield Park Conservatory, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Method Factory, Johnny’s Ice House and the Ignite Glass studio. Students also use their understanding of scientific principles to design, engineer, and test products in cooperation with their Design class.

Physical Education & Health

Physical education and Health:

Physical and health education at Daystar focuses on learning about physical activity and learning through physical activity. Physical and health education units will focus primarily on the concepts of communication, relationships, and change through the lens and context of health, fitness, and sports. Students will participate in and learn about a variety of team sports, individual sports, recreational sports, cooperative games, and movement activities. Students will be expected to pursue improved physical fitness through active class participation and class focused fitness activities. Physical and health education helps students appreciate and respect the ideas of others and develop effective collaboration and communication skills; they create meaningful connections among people, nations, and cultures.

Language Acquisition

Language Acquisition (Spanish):

Language acquisition courses focus on interpersonal, interpretive and presentational competence while fostering cultural understanding. Our curriculum aligns with Illinois Foreign Language Learning Standards within the MYP IB Language Acquisition framework. While developing language skills through the study and use of a myriad of written and spoken material, students explore the culture(s) connected to it. Materials extend from everyday written and oral exchanges to texts which relate to the culture(s) concerned. Through their studies, students build the necessary and appropriate skills to read, write, speak and listen at the level that will be assessed through their receptive, productive and interactive skills. Spanish is offered to all students; those who are fluent in speaking, reading and writing Spanish may take an online course in another language.

Math

“MYP mathematics aims to equip all students with the knowledge, understanding and intellectual capabilities to address further courses in mathematics, as well as to prepare those students who will use mathematics in their studies, workplaces and everyday life.” (https://www.ibo.org/programmes/middle-years-programme/curriculum/mathematics/)

Students engage in sophisticated and in-depth learning of mathematics, using an approach that seeks to bring application to investigating patterns, communicating, and exploring real world situations. Students build skills and conceptual understanding that help them master math standards in Algebra, Geometry, and Statistics. Through the use of Common Core Standards, integrated within the IB framework, students are challenged to think critically about global issues.

Design

Throughout the year, students will be challenged to apply practical and creative-thinking skills to solve design challenges and problems. In Design class students learn to approach these challenges with the use of the Design Cycle which takes them through stages of investigation, planning, creation, and evaluation. Inquiry and problem-solving are at the heart of design; however, much of our attention will also go into developing empathy and raising awareness of our responsibilities when making design decisions and taking action.

Arts

Daystar’s visual arts curriculum seeks to nurture in our students an understanding of visual expression, representation and communication. Students will explore what it means to be made in the image of God while being challenged to think creatively, critically and analytically. This year’s curriculum is specifically designed to further enhance student understanding of art in context, while allowing students to work with a variety of media and techniques. Concepts explored will include form, identity, culture, aesthetics and perspective. Along with our curriculum studies, students are responsible for maintaining and keeping up with weekly sketch assignments which derive from the unit being studied at the time. Assignments will be used to both help students develop skills as well as expand creativity and problem-solving skills. In a rapidly changing world, the visual arts curriculum ultimately seeks to help students build a sense of identity, perseverance, and develop intercultural understanding as students begin to see themselves as creators and transformers of the world around them.