How does Sandy Spring Friends Middle School beat the “winter blues” each year? Meet the Middle School Humanities Minimester.

Middle School Minimester Magic

Through the Humanities Minimester, we take the best of experiential learning, autonomy, and strategic instruction to re-infuse joy into the 4th Quarter. Minimester courses allow teachers to be creative with content while still teaching crucial skills, and they empower students to take charge of their education as they choose to study topics that are important to them—beyond the traditional curriculum.

SSFS’ Middle School Humanities Department offers "minimester" courses each year during Quarter 4  for our 7th and 8th-grade students.

These courses, created with inquiry-based learning in mind,  have the following goals:

• Pique student interest and engagement through choice and experiential learning

• Hone critical thinking skills while deepening and broadening understanding 

• Create new combined classroom communities of 7th and 8th-grade learners.