Compass Programming

Sixth Graders on Bridge

Developmental needs, advisory themes, and grade level curriculum influence and shape the grade level programming. The goal of the Grade Level Program is to create class cohesion through the exploration of a year-long theme. Grade Level Program Days in the fall and spring provide opportunities to build, develop, and nurture a sense of community among the students. These events are required parts of the curriculum.

6th Grade: Building Community

Sixth grade activities include an annual three-day campout including such popular activities as art, science, theater, humanities, hiking, astronomy, fishing, “spider sniffing,” games, and evening campfires. 
Curricular Connections:

  • Ancient civilizations and the Middle Ages (Humanities)
  • "Civilizations" focus (Adventure Education)
  • Weather and astronomy (Science)
  • Place-based art and “campus as studio" (Art) 

7th Grade: Strengthening Community

Curricular Connections:

  • US History from pre-colonization through the early 1800's (Humanities)
  • Local Geology and Prehistory of the Cumberland Plateau; Ecology of the Cumberland Plateau; end of year culminates in small group, student-designed nature studies (Science)
  • Relationships between art, design, and everyday (Art)
  • Maps, mapmaking, topography 

8th Grade: Deepening Relationships and Exploring Leadership

Curricular Connections:

  • US History from the Civil War to the present (Humanities)
  • Architecture, structure, and installation/how individuals interact with the space around them (Art)
  • Capstone experience of researching, designing, conducting, analyzing, and presenting an independent experiment or scientific study (Science) 

9th Grade: Who am I?

9th Grade – Who Am I?

  • Builds on the grade 9 curriculum and the desire to orient students to this place
  • Exploration of self and the locale in which the students find themselves
One memorable experience at SAS is when the freshman class canoed down the Elk River and started our bond that carried throughout our senior year. Ashley Barry '14, Berry College '18

10th Grade: Where am I?

  • Builds on the Global Literature and Global History curriculum capitalizing on the international nature of our student body
  • Exploration of how students relate to the world on a global scale

Junior Year: Where am I from?

  • Builds on the American History curriculum (with recognition that this will not be the story of all our students)
  • Exploration of the events that have brought students to this place in time
  • Exploration of opportunities for school leadership

Senior Year: Where am I headed?

  • Builds on the religion curriculum
  • Prepares our students to leave our campus
  • Gives students a strong sense of who they are, the possibilities available to them, and the skills they may need to navigate in the world beyond our campus
  • Refocusing, beginning of closure – a synthesizing year