Middle School Programs

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Outside of the class: Building confidence, competence and character

“I never knew there would be so many opportunities for…,” and “I can’t believe how much I get to choose…,” students say. The chances for students to grow and express themselves are diverse. They have many options to gain skills, increase awareness and serve. They can spend an afternoon with a group of friends who have a common interest; they can join their classmates in questioning a morning assembly speaker. They love to go off campus to explore a unique place as a class. All together, the chance to do more, and different, with their interests and talents, is something they love about their School. At the same time, they expand and grow, learning about themselves and the world around them.

Co-Curricular Activities

Outside of class, Milton’s Middle School students can choose from among many opportunities. Through co-curricular activities, middle schoolers build skills, explore interests, learn how to lead, offer valuable service, meet new people and have fun.

Activities periods, every Wednesday from 11:50 a.m. until 1:20 p.m., are part of every student’s schedule. Students choose one activity in September and another in January, and participate for a full semester. Faculty advise the groups and facilitate the meetings.

Examples of Activities

Over the years, activities have included: Speech Team, Jazz Combo, Chess Club, Robotics, Knitting Club, Newspaper, Yearbook and Outdoor Club.

Speech Team is available for the full year. Drama is available in the fall semester. A students-of-color affinity group is available after school.

Cultural Awareness for Everyone (CAFÉ) is an activity open to all Middle School students. Students learn about different cultural backgrounds and talk about ways to appreciate and support differences within and outside of School.

Speech Team

The speech team is a co-curricular activity designed to train students in the fundamentals of performance. The team includes students from all Middle School grades—sixth, seventh and eighth—and is led by two Grade 8 Captains and two MMSFL Representatives. Members of the Upper School speech team prepare their middle school speechies for tournaments held throughout the year. Speech members in the activity may compete in the Massachusetts Middle School Forensic League (MMSFL) in several categories of events, including:

Interpretation – the art of literary performance that focuses on the language of a text. Unlike drama, which recreates scenes by simulating the real and visual world, interpretation suggests character interaction and scene but gives precedence to the interaction between audience and narrative. Interpretation events include prose, poetry, duo interpretation (a pair acting in tandem) and play reading.

Public Address – refers to memorized speeches delivered to an audience. Events in public address include declamation (a seven minute speech written by someone other than the performer), oratory (an original seven minute speech written by the speaker) and demonstration (a “how to” speech).

Limited Preparation – events require students to prepare original speeches or stories within a pre-determined time limit. Events include impromptu speaking (analysis of quotations and vocabulary) and storytelling.

The Milton Academy Middle School speech team is a member of the Massachusetts Middle School Forensic League (MMSFL) and is also a proud part of the National Junior Forensic League (NJFL).                                                    

Middle School Speech Team Advisor
Yoshi Makishima
With assistance from Upper School coaches, Patrice Jean-Baptiste and Matthew Brandstetter

Community Engagement

The Community Engagement Programs and Partnerships (CEPP) seeks to instill and support a passion for service in Milton Academy’s students, faculty and staff. Through providing a multitude of opportunities from cooking and serving meals at Rosie’s Place, to gift drives for the ABCD Head Start program, to Special Olympics basketball and track tournaments, Milton strives to provide students with interesting and meaningful service opportunities.