Middle School

The middle school at MTS includes our 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. We often refer to our 5th graders as the leaders of the lower school and provide opportunities for them to act as mentors and advocates for the younger students on campus. Each year we grow the 5th grade class by adding several new students. We grow the 6th grade class by adding approximately 6-9 new students each year. An MTS middle school education emphasizes academic rigor, and supports lifelong learners who graduate well prepared for high school while remaining young at heart. Our students are taught not just what to learn, but how to learn, as well as how to give back, contribute, and help improve communities and the world.

The opportunity to be a role model to students on campus as young as five years old sets a completely different behavioral bar for developing teenagers. Our middle school students delight in the relationships they develop with younger students on campus through our Buddy Bear program and becoming student leaders. While taking on leadership roles, we also encourage the space and time to enjoy childhood, to experience joy, to delight in our campus, and play.

Class sizes grow to 36 in middle school. While this provides a larger social pool for each of the middle school grades, MTS middle schoolers can expect to be taught in groups of 18 students or fewer, depending on the subject.

Our middle school program also emphasizes the importance of building strong relationships with teachers, learning to speak up and ask questions, engage in spirited debate, and use voice and choice to pursue passion projects.

At MTS, we work hard to ensure all members of our community – students, faculty, staff, and families – feel a strong sense of belonging, while also recognizing and celebrating our individuality.

We seek to honor and celebrate the diversity of our community by utilizing an age-appropriate, cross-curricula approach. Students of all ages explore and investigate various topics, including gender, race, ethnicity, religion, immigration, ableism, human rights, family structures, and socioeconomic structure.

The MTS Difference

We Keep Kids Young

MTS graduates possess a mature innocence and are confident without being cocky. We believe that our small size, our close student-teacher relationships, and opportunities for the oldest students to connect with our youngest students in meaningful ways helps our students grow up without hurrying up.

It is our goal to graduate caring, creative, and conscientious students, who are ready to improve our world.

Our Technology Approach

Our approach to technology use is simple: that it should be intentional, not ubiquitous. We embrace technology on a daily basis, while also recognizing the need to place healthy boundaries on technology use and emphasize the importance of in-person connection and outdoor play.

We have a strict no cell phone use policy on campus, honored by both students and teachers. Our policy doesn't end with the last bell: If students need to call home, they go to the front office and ask permission to use the school phone.

Uniforms Level the Playing Field

An 8th grade student once said to our Head of School, "We love to complain about the uniforms, but we actually really like them."

Our uniform allows our students to focus on what is really important, and saves time getting ready in the morning! Students are quicker to see the person rather than the brand labels they are wearing.

Middle School Program

Outdoor Education

Our robust outdoor education program is a long-standing Mount Tamalpais School tradition, as well as a cornerstone of the MTS curriculum.

Leaving the classroom for the natural world gives our students the tangible experience of being in nature, discovering ecosystems, seeing how things are interconnected, and understanding how the environment is influenced by humans. As our students develop an emotional connection to natural places, the opportunity for personal growth increases. The opportunity for deeper peer connections greatly increases outside of the classroom as they face new challenges together. We purposely schedule our 6th-8th grade outdoor education trips at the start of the school year to maximize time to connect with classmates outside of the classroom.

Service Learning

The goals of service learning at Mount Tamalpais School are to introduce students to various ways of giving back, provide leadership opportunities, offer hands-on activities that have measurable impact, and to experience multiple touch points with our broader community. Committing to being in service to others empowers our students to make a positive difference in our community and the world.

Performing Arts

Every Spring, our middle school students audition for and perform in a musical.

Unlike the 4th and 5th grade play, where participation is mandatory, the middle school play offers students an opportunity to choose whether or not they would like to participate. In addition to auditioning for roles, students can support the production through lighting and tech. The performing arts department works in depth to prepare students for phenomenal performances. Parent volunteers come together to help with costumes and make up, and professional musicians are hired to accompany the singers.

Learn more about Performing Arts at MTS

Advisory & Clubs

Advisory takes place on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Each middle school student joins approximately 11 of their classmates and their advisor for small group activities and discussions.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays students start their day with a mixed grade-level club activity selected by each student every trimester. Students choose a Tuesday club and a Thursday club from many offerings, such as band, basketball, chess, volleyball, Mathletes, knitting, board games, and art, to name a few.

Enrichment

Thursday Enrichment

On Thursday afternoons, middle school students take a deeper dive into the performing, visual, and computer arts programs at MTS. In addition to their weekly classes in arts and music, Thursday afternoons provide a double block period in which students select an area of focus each trimester. The enrichment classes vary, often including Dance, Scene Study, Guitar, Vocals, African Drumming, Visual Arts, Photoshop, and Photography. Our fall and spring recitals then offer an opportunity for middle school students to showcase their learnings from these classes.

After School Enrichment

In addition to the athletic teams at MTS, a variety of classes are offered after school through our After the Bell program. Courses are taught by a mix of MTS faculty and outside professionals. Study Hall is offered to 5th–8th grade students, free of charge, until 4:00 pm, to complete homework or to meet with teachers during their office hours.

Middle School After the Bell opportunities include an Impromptu Public Speaking class focusing on building speech skills for the Margie Burke Speech Tournament, Cooking, Flag Football, and the Spring Recital. Students interested in the school's band program choose a band ensemble of interest for the year.

High School Counseling Program

MTS has established a history of very strong high school placement. Bay Area independent and parochial schools, boarding schools, and Marin County public schools are well informed about the strength of our academic, social-emotional, and co-curricular programs. We partner with families at every step in the high school application process, and emphasize finding high schools that best fit each student.

For more information on our High School Counseling Program, including program features, timelines, testimonials, and a list of high schools our graduates have recently matriculated to, please visit our High School Counseling page.