SEPTEMBER 30, 2025

Message from the Middle School Director

Now that we are well into the school year, plans for next year’s opening of the Middle School are quickly solidifying. This past month has allowed me to work with Brendan Barnard (Middle School Dean of Student Life) in creating several drafts of a daily schedule that focuses on providing students with the appropriate amount of time for a challenging academic experience. Prioritizing spaces for interdisciplinary, inquiry-based projects that incorporate critical thinking will enable students to work with teachers to deeply explore topics and ideas that are both relevant and demanding. At the same time, middle schoolers need periodic breaks throughout the day that provide them with time to socialize and develop meaningful friendships, which are essential in developing a healthy sense of belonging and community.

We are also honing in on the physical location of the middle school and will be updating our community when plans have been finalized. Simply put, working on the overall design of the JHCS Middle School continues to be the most exciting project of my educational career. Stay tuned for further updates!

SEPTEMBER EVENT RECAP

EduTalks: Why Middle School Matters!

September was a month filled with exciting and informative EduTalks, a series of four presentations for parents on topics that are essential when it comes to understanding how to provide the best educational experience for middle schoolers. Bill Waskowitz presented on the following:

• Can a Middle Schooler Think Critically? Curriculum Design that Matters
• Social Emotional Learning in Middle School: Helping our Kids Grow into Resilient, Caring, and Confident Learners
• Growing Up Online: Social Media & Middle Schoolers
• The Adolescent Brain: How Middle Schools Can Support Growth, Learning, and Identity

Thank you to everyone who attended and engaged in these conversations.

Please visit our website to view the slides from each presentation.

If you would like to know more about any of these topics or have questions, don’t hesitate to email Bill: bwaskowitz@jhcschool.org

SCHEDULE A COFFEE WITH BILL

If you haven’t had the opportunity to meet with Bill Waskowitz (Founding Middle School Director) about plans for the JHCS Middle School as well as to share your own thoughts for what a middle school experience should be for your child, please click below to reserve a 30-minute Coffee With Bill at Snake River Roasters.

This is a great opportunity to hear about the philosophy, approach, curriculum, and vision that Bill is working on to provide an unparalleled middle school learning experience for Jackson families.

WATCH SUGGESTION: 8th Grade

Even though it's almost 7 years old, the movie 8th Grade has aged amazingly well, presenting the joys and cringe-worthy moments of being an 8th-grade girl during her final week of middle school.

Produced by the comedian Bo Burnham, 8th Grade captures the essence of what it means to be a young teenager trying to navigate the desire to fit in despite being awkward and unsure of one’s self. Kayla (played by the amazing Elsie Fisher, who was fourteen when the film was produced) spends much of her time outside of school creating positive videos that she posts, urging fellow middle schoolers with the sage advice, “Don't care about what other people think about you.” If only Kayla could take a bit of this thoughtful medicine!

Focused on the online posts of her fellow students’ heavily curated videos that depict them as living the most beautiful, fun, happy, and joyous lives, Kayla is continuously disappointed by her own life. As she walks into a pool party that feels fraught with potential disappointment and embarrassment with every step, Kayla eventually wades into the pool, clutching her stomach, feeling as though every eye is trained on her. The audience knows, however, that no one even notices Kayla, save for a nerdy boy who tells her that he just swam a lap of the pool while holding his breath.

I urge everyone who was ever a middle schooler to watch 8th Grade! Yes, it will bring back those feelings you thought you had survived and buried in your past. Yes, it will remind you of those events that were such an important/painful part of your young teenage years (e.g., dances, trying to talk to that person you had a crush on). And, yes, it will remind you how important and transformative middle school truly is.