MIDDLE SCHOOL MATH
“Math is fun and good!”
The math department at Holy Nativity Episcopal School Middle School believes and practices this motto every day.
The HNES Math program is designed to encourage students to challenge themselves to meet their full potential. The primary goal is to teach critical math skills while encouraging a love of learning and inspiring academic curiosity. To this end, students do more than manipulate numbers. They are asked to talk about, write about and think about math and how it serves them. As students are stretched to their highest potential, we raise their level of responsibility and independence. Unlike traditional classrooms, students at HNES are placed in a math class based on their math skill level rather than solely by their grade level. We take advantage of the flexibility of our scheduling to allow for advanced students to be placed in whichever math class best fits their math aptitude now. Our history shows that students in the HNES Middle School are not only prepared for the next academic level, but they also continue to enjoy and excel in their math achievement.
HNES is happy to have three trained, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic math teachers in our middle school. Our teachers love math and know the importance of it in today’s high-tech society. All teachers desire the maximum development of each student and therefore focus on individual needs and appropriate challenges. Classroom set up allows for both individual and group work for real-life problem solving and “brainstorming.” The mathematics lessons are sequential and build on prior learning. Homework is sufficient, consistent, and is used to reinforce class instruction.
In Middle School, Midterm and Final Exams are given in each academic subject. This practice has proven effective at confirming students' progress as well as preparing them for any future exams they take. Additionally, all middle school students take the AP Readi-Step Test annually. Written by the College Board, Readi-Step evaluates school curriculum and student advancement in preparation for future college placement.
Middle School students in Florida now take End of Course Exams (EOC) to obtain high school credit for certain subjects. Holy Nativity students who take Algebra I and/or Geometry I also sit for this exam at the Bay District School's testing facility. To date, all HNES students have passed these exams with some of the highest scores in our county!
In addition to daily math courses, HNES offers two additional math electives to allow for more math instruction time during the school day: MathCounts and Introduction to Geometry. MathCounts is the national math competition program that rewards “mathletes” for their diligence and math passion. Introduction to Geometry is a twice a week foundational course for all students in 7th grade.