Coed, independent, PK3-12th grade school in St. Petersburg, Florida.

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Fifth Grade at Shorecrest

For your child, early adolescence is a period of great change and opportunity. We recognize that at this age children have a unique need for greater independence while still requiring support and nurturing. This is one of the reasons why fifth grade is a part of the the Middle School at Shorecrest. While many students begin Middle School in sixth grade and have little time to transition to the structure of a new school, our students have a year of “Middle School on training wheels,” as our Head of Middle School Jonathan Davis is known to say.
Fifth grade students gain freedoms and responsibilities, like lockers, more lunchtime menu options, and the use of an iPad as required course material. Students are introduced and supported through each change incrementally, allowing for comfort in the familiarity and excitement in their own growth. Our nurturing fifth grade faculty understands the transitions students are going through developmentally and work together to ease students into Middle School so they are ready to hit the ground running in sixth grade.

Advisors and Advisory

This growth is nurtured through Middle School advisories. Each fifth grade student will be assigned an Advisor, a teacher who functions as a “homeroom” mentor for a small group of students. Advisors might address overall academic progress, social concerns and absences. We understand the importance of having meaningful relationships with an adult and a group of peers for thriving academically and socially. Strong advisors are problem solvers and advice givers. An advisory program facilitates these kinds of relationships and provides the structure that creates "connectedness" in Middle School.
Advisories with high levels of connectedness actively worked on creating a healthy community by addressing the way students related to one another. Strong advisories promote open communication.
All Advisors and students at Shorecrest Middle School are supported by the school Guidance Counselor, Kate Fierce.

Social Emotional Learning:

Advisory groups meet every morning for the Circle of Power and Respect (CPR). In CPR, students build social skills, get to know each other better, and work together while discussing subjects that are important to them and playing games. It also allows students to do what they most want and need to do: connect with their peers. Prepared activities during CPR focus on empathy, impulse control, building community and problem solving. From daily morning meeting to the language teachers use with their students, what’s best for students is at the heart of each student-teacher interaction at Shorecrest.

The advisory extends beyond daily morning meetings; advisories meet again for a Study Hall period twice each week when students can work on homework and classwork, ask teachers questions about assignments, and Advisors can check in with students.

Curriculum

The fifth grade curriculum includes English, math, science, social studies, health / P.E. and Spanish. A rotating quarterly schedule incorporates art, music, drama/debate and technology into the schedule.

The Project Approach:

Project-based learning is an in-depth study or investigation of a topic or theme that allows students to follow their questions and to learn about a given topic of interest. Through these projects, students learn how to learn, how to make sense of what they are learning, how to apply what they learned, and how to share or teach from a place of authority about what they have learned. Projects are typically interdisciplinary, meaning they aren’t confined to simply one subject area.

Organization and Study Skills:

Fifth grade is a time to explore. Children need to try different study strategies in order to find the right fit. It may take a while for your child to find his or her particular learning style and to figure out what works best for him or her. It is a time for students to make mistakes, in class and on homework. As the year progresses we will we gradually release more responsibility to them in order to foster their independence. Students struggling with study skills - and their parents - can receive additional support through The Learning Center at Shorecrest.

Use of PowerSchool Learning

PowerSchool Learning provides a user-friendly web space where teachers can securely post photos and announcements about classroom activities and assignments. PowerSchool can be used to monitor assignments and grades online, class events and other student resources.

Extra Curriculars

Some fifth graders at Shorecrest take part in Forensics / Debate club, FIRST LEGO League Robotics, after school clubs and intramural sports, and the annual National Geographic Geography Bee competition.

Shorecrest also offers a fifth grade band. Fifth graders have the opportunity to select an instrument to study under the guidance of band director Ethan Updike. Options might include flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, percussion, piano, etc. The goal of the Fifth Grade Band is to develop basic instrumental musical skills that can be used for advanced study in the Middle and Upper School or simply to develop a lifelong love of music.

Field Experiences & Guest Experts:

September: Weedon Island Field Experience
November: Drop Everything and STEAM
February-March: Minecraft grade-level project
Spring: Celebrate the Arts Week

HEALTH & SAFETY at SHORECREST

Shorecrest contracts with Critical Intervention Services (CIS) to provide campus safety and security. Together, we developed a school-wide comprehensive safety, security and protection program that retains the open and welcoming atmosphere of our independent school campus while enhancing all levels of safety for the Shorecrest community. Shorecrest employs two  School Protection Officers (SPO’s) with unique skills, interest and training to serve as on-campus leaders for the safety, security and protection of Shorecrest students.

Shorecrest employs a full-time registered nurse who manages and maintains a fully stocked clinic located on the Lower School side of campus. She dispenses any approved prescription medication, manages student health records, and handles an on-campus illnesses or injuries.
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Parenting Tip:

Sometimes your student will come home and say “I have no homework tonight!” You may be concerned that they have forgotten an assignment or aren't considering studying and project time they may need time for. Here's something students can do every afternoon to both review material and jog their memories about something they may have forgotten:
Two Minute Review
  • Review notes/topics from each class daily
  • 6 classes x 2 minutes = 12 minutes
  • Have your child explain what they did in each class to you or a friend.

Middle School News

About Shorecrest

Shorecrest serves a broad range of students, from the inquisitive and wiggly 3-year-old to the college-bound senior.

Organized in four divisions or ‘schools,’ Shorecrest Preparatory School houses The Experiential School of Tampa Bay (3, 4, and 5-year-old program), the K-4th grade Lower School, the 5th-8th grade Middle School, and the 9th-12th grade Upper School. Each school is led by experienced educators with expertise in their respective fields, be it early childhood education or adolescent brain development. The curriculum spirals upward, each year building on the previous year's experience.

Fifth grade is the main entry point of the 5th-8th grade Middle School, a part of the preschool through 12th grade Shorecrest Preparatory School family. 

Shorecrest Preparatory School

5101 First Street Northeast
St Petersburg, FL 33703
Phone: (727) 522-2111  |  Fax: (727) 527-4191
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Shorecrest Preparatory School is a private, non-sectarian, coeducational, college preparatory day school for students preschool through high school, located in St. Petersburg, Florida.