The middle school at Bend International School is a small inclusive community of students who are prepared to engage with the world and become global citizens. The foundational skills taught in our primary school allow all of our middle school students to achieve high standards in their three core classes of Science, Math, and the Humanities. Additionally, students at our middle school reach beyond their limits with integrated project-based units where they are challenged to make a lasting impact on global issues.

The middle school years can be hard for students but at Bend International School we foster a supportive community where students can become their whole selves. Students form strong bonds as they progress through all three years of middle school, building lasting relationships with peers, teachers, and students. We build an inclusive community where everyone belongs and if problems do arise they are dealt with through the use of restorative justice techniques.

Our middle school places a high value on experiential learning and rigorous academics. Students in grades 6th, 7th, and 8th can expect to go on 3 field trips each year, many of them being overnight trips to places across Oregon. Students are held to high standards and are expected to improve on a variety of metrics including the MAP test and the statewide Smarter Balanced exam. Our character education program fosters a sense of citizenship toward the communities we belong to. Students learn, demonstrate, and teach our primary age students about all 10 of the character traits that belong to our character education program.

A unique part of our middle school program is our Sister School in Tlaquepaque, Mexico. Students are matched up with a similar age student at Octavio Paz School in Tlaquepaque where they communicate about intercultural differences and make friends with someone from another culture. The capstone experience for all Bend International School middle schoolers is the week-long trip to our sister school in Tlaquepaque, Mexico where students engage in a service-learning project with their counterparts and learn more about the vibrant culture of one of the artistic capitals of Mexico. Students from Octavio Paz also come to visit Bend to be hosted by our middle schoolers and engage in service-learning projects as they get to see all of the culture and recreation that Bend has to offer.

The humanities is taught at Bend International School with a keen focus on international authors and perspectives. Students are challenged with daily writing activities that span various critical thinking skills. Students are empowered to write creatively telling their own stories through personal narrative writing.  Persuasive writing and debate are also units of study in the Humanities program at Bend International School.  The novels included in our curriculum are  books like Revolution is Not a Dinner Party, The Book Thief, I am Malala, and A Long Walk to Water. Students transform their thinking, reaching beyond old paradigms of history and they learn to engage with our modern, globalized world.  

Our science curriculum at Bend International School gives students real world opportunities to test, design, and conduct experiments that provide students with authentic chances to develop their science skills.  We use the Next Generation Science standards to give students a platform to discover the most important skills for learning science in the 21st century.  From coding programs, microscopes and  3-D printing students have access to a variety of equipment to enhance their education as they progress through our middle school program.  Emphasis is places on labs where students work collaboratively to test out various hypotheses in a variety of sciences including chemistry, biologys, physics, and climate science.

Math at Bend International School’s middle school places a rigorous emphasis on understanding the fundamental principles of mathematics.  Students are challenged to understand the purpose, relevancy, and principles behind a wide variety of math concepts.  Projects based on design principles are used frequently to provide authentic practice on how math is used in the real world and how math can unlock skills that will help students find success in high school and beyond.  The math curriculum used in during the middle school years is from Open Up resources which provides students, teachers, and parents with opportunities for students to make the most of their math education. 

At Bend International School we value experiences for students that connect and enhance their integrated units of study in the classroom.  Each class takes three trips per year around Oregon and even as far as Mexico. The trips serve as an extension of the integrated unit of study that is happening in your child’s classroom during each of our three integrated units per year.   Overnight trips start in 4th grade and students can expect at least one overnight trip per year from then on. Our capstone trip is the 7th and 8th-grade field trip to Tlaquepaque Mexico to visit our Sister School. 

Experiential education is a fundamental part of our Middle School at Bend International School.  Students grades 6-8 all take three trips per school year with 2 of the trips being overnight.  These educational experiences enhance and promote the theme of each class’s integrated unit.  Providing students an opportunity to connect real world experiences in the field to the classroom instruction at school.  Field trips in 6th grade include  a 2 night trip to OMSI’s Hancock Field Station in Eastern Oregon,  a trip to Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum and a combined 2 night trip with the 7th grade class to Opal Creek Outdoor Camp in the Cascade Foothills. 7th graders also go on overnight trips to the Skyliner Lodge near Tumalo Falls.  8th grade trips include a trip to the state capital building in Salem along with an overnight stay in Oregon’s famous Silver Falls State Park.  In the Winter our trips tend to be based in Central Oregon and have included trips to Breedlove Guitars, Jeld Wen’s Innovation Lab, Oregon’s Shakespeare Festival, OSU Cascades Campus for College Workshops on Creative  Writing. Our capstone trip for middle schoolers at Bend International School is a week long trip to Tlaquepaque, Mexico.  Students meet their partner student who have they been communicating throughout the year with and go on cultural exchange activities across the pueblo.  It is an unforgettable experience for students to communicate and experience an another culture in an authentic Mexican school setting.  As educators we’re alway trying to integrate our trips and experiences to foster exemplary character, and empower students to excel.