MICDS student Rachel Phillips '24 speaks to Middle School accepted families.

Welcome to Accepted Middle Schoolers

On Wednesday, April 3, MICDS welcomed students who had been accepted to 5th through 8th grades at a breakfast and presentation in Brauer Auditorium. Rachel Phillips ’24 shared her experience entering 7th grade this school year.

MICDS student Rachel Phillips '24Good morning, and welcome to MICDS. My name is Rachel Phillips, and I am in the 7th Grade here. I remember last year, around this time, getting my red tube (which is still somewhere in my house) and I think congratulations are in order. You have made it through the admissions process and been accepted to a wonderful school with challenging, but not impossible academics, and a wide selection of extra-curricular activities. You should all be very proud of yourselves, and eager to start at a new school. I know I was.

But, like most of you probably are, I was nervous. I was worried that I would be coming into a school where I didn’t know anyone. I was terrified that I would get lost on my way to math class, especially in such a big school.

When I started, however, I already knew my way around. I already knew most of my classmates, even the ones who didn’t come from my previous school. How? The Bridge program. Bridge is a one week camp over the summer that allows you to get to know your classmates, teachers, and the school. Over the course of that week, we had ice-breaker discussions, we did team-building activities, and we got a schedule that we had to follow. Getting to know the other students was no problem, since everyone was very nice and welcoming, and most of us were new on the first day.

One of the most exciting days at the beginning of the year was the day we got our laptops. All through the first day, we were asking our teachers when we would get our computers. Technology is one of the things that this school does better than anyone else. In my classes, the academic rigor was challenging to adapt to, but the curriculum is not impossible, and we are given as much help as we need. In a day, we have a Flex period, or even two, that we can use to meet with our teachers or get homework done.

After school, you can participate in the After School Assistance Program, or ASAP, if you are not participating in one of the many sports or extracurriculars MICDS offers. This spring, I am on the Track and Field team. Throughout the course of the year, there are many different sports that students can participate in, including Track, Squash, Soccer, Basketball, Volleyball, and many others. For those who are interested, the middle school has a robotics team, a composition club, a cooking club, a knitting club, and a science fair club. If none of these peak your interest, don’t worry. These are only the clubs that meet on Tuesdays.

MICDS turned out to be the best fit for me, because it gives me, and all of the other students, every opportunity to succeed, explore, and grow. I hope to see many of you in the hallways next year.