Welcome to Winter Term at MICDS

Each year, when we return from Winter break, we pause our typical academic program for one week in the Lower School and two weeks in the Middle and Upper Schools so that students can take interdisciplinary courses and electives. Our faculty develops Winter Term classes based on their passions and curiosities, and our MS and US students register for Winter Term classes based on their passions and curiosities.

Winter Term is required for each student and attendance is mandatory. In the Upper School, participation in Winter Term all years a student is enrolled and it is offered is a requirement for graduation. Vacations are not considered excused absences from Winter Term. If a student misses more than one day of Winter Term, the Winter Term committee will review the feasibility of the student receiving credit for the course or whether the student must make the course up in June.

Many schools in the United States have begun offering programs like Winter Term. We can all get a case of the Januaries, so it’s a great time to introduce new ways of working with new groups of peers. Also, our academic program is very thoughtfully designed based on students’ developmental needs so that they are well-prepared for college, but sometimes, you need to just try something new. Play. Do something challenging. You can learn a lot when you play at school!  

Students have so many exciting choices in Winter Term. They can design games, explore sustainable architecture through Minecraft, build art installations, put on a play, or learn magic.   Winter Term also lets us do more community and career work. Students can learn about service animals, gain a better understanding of women’s health care, apprentice as a journalist, and learn leadership skills. We also offer national and international educational trips for Upper School students during Winter Term and all of our seniors do internships.

We developed our Winter Term offerings by asking classroom teachers to design and propose courses. MICDS attracts teachers who are lifelong learners and interested in design work. In the Middle School, teachers share their passion for forensic science, military history, mahjong, and playing the ukulele. In the Upper School, a teacher offers a guitar-building class where students learn about the physics of acoustics, while others offer rocketry, cooking, printmaking, and marine biology. Check out the Course Catalogs for a full list.

Lower School students don’t need to sign up–they are automatically placed in mixed-age level groups for Winter Term activities. In the MS and US, students will receive and review the catalog, and then share their top choices with us during the school year.

Winter Term feels like a break from regular schooling, and it is, but it’s not a break from learning. Winter Term feels like new content, and it often is, but the skills are the same. Students ask questions, read, write, listen, collect data, find patterns, design, solve problems, work together, and present their ideas. It’s great for students to apply the skills they are developing in their regular classes in the novel situations that Winter Term offers!

There is no homework for Lower and Middle School Winter Term courses. However, Upper School students do have some homework as they prepare for classes and finalize their projects.

We hear from families that Winter Term is rejuvenating for students. It feels like a break from the traditional semester just when students need one. Families also tell us that without the homework and assessment load that our college-bound students typically experience, they see more relaxing and family time during Winter Term. Many of our students share that they appreciated the chance to explore an interest in depth and the opportunity to experience their future careers now.

We hope to support enthusiastic engagement in school despite the dreariness of January. In May, there are already many events and programming that we don’t want to undermine or compete with. Additionally, we want to include seniors, and they are gone in May. This timing creates two semesters of equal length to support depth of study in our credited classes and a change of pace in the winter.

If there is a Snow Day, Winter Term programming will shift to virtual or asynchronous activities or cut back on planned activities. Winter Term programming will not be extended past Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The LS will be following the regular school day schedule. In the morning, they are in mixed grade-level family groups. In the afternoon they are in their homeroom classes to continue advancing their regular literacy and math programs. Afternoon classes also connect back to the Winter Term texts, activities, and themes.

For our younger learners, we made Winter Term shorter to strike the right balance between consistency and novelty.

Our thoughtful scope and sequence for academic work and intentional community building in the homerooms offer children a welcoming academic environment every day of the year. Winter Term is an opportunity for students to step outside of that comfortable environment and apply their skills, e.g., assertiveness and empathy with new peers and new activities.

MS and US Students will be expected to complete Winter Term coursework on a pass/no pass basis. US Transcripts will include “Winter Term” and denote whether the student passed or did not pass the session.

Winter Term is primarily academic, offering a deep-dive into a “pure learning” environment that deviates from the thoughtful JK-12 scope and sequence of our academic program. A typical Winter Term course can cover classic topics that includes the common elements of an academic course (teacher-curated content, essays, tests, presentations, teacher-designed projects, etc.) while offering an opportunity to stretch into something that provides more space for students to develop the content and topics and drive the direction the course might take. The courses are driven by student-centered activities and active learning. Courses include peer and self-assessment and open exploration of a topic, theme, or question. To break up the day, there are supplemental activities designed to encourage students to have fun with their classmates and perhaps explore a new hobby or skill.

8:00-8:10 a.m. Attendance

8:10-9:05 a.m. Electives

9:10-10:55 a.m. Course 1

11 a.m.-1:20 p.m. Students rotate among lunch, PE, and grade-level activities in 45-minute sessions.

1:25-3:10 p.m. Course 2

For the 2023 Winter Term, the class schedule was:

8:00-10:20 a.m. Course 1

10:20-11:00 a.m. Advisory

11:00-11:45 a.m. 1st Lunch + Activity Period

11:45 a.m. -12:30 p.m. 2nd Lunch + Activity Period

12:30-3:10 p.m. Course 2

Lunch would rotate A/B

This schedule is subject to change in future years.

While shifting two weeks from our typical courses does reduce contact time in those classes, in the Upper School, auxiliary classes make up that lost time and allow, e.g, AP test preparation. We carefully balance instructional days throughout the school year to ensure that students have appropriate time to learn material.

The Winter Term courses are designed for students through 11th grade and the senior experience is designed for seniors in anticipation of their matriculation to college. Seniors make connections and dive deeper into their personal areas of interest by volunteering or exploring future career interests through internships. Seniors may also apply to participate in a domestic or international travel program.

With the exception of trips, all Winter Term courses will happen during the school day and should not interfere with sports schedules. Students can get sports early dismissals from Winter Term classes, just as they can from their semester classes.

Middle and Upper School students are surveyed in advance of Winter Term and are able to rank select their courses of interest. We aim to give each student their highest choice possible while also maintaining balance in the student body. Students who enroll late will be placed in a Winter Term course with availability. All Winter Term course placements are final. Students are not allowed to repeat Winter Term courses and may also be restricted from participating in two courses that are similar in nature during the same term (for example, two cooking classes).