I feel that in METL class we can talk more freely about all the problems that are happening in the world. METL helped me to keep on making changes to improve myself and to make the world a better place.
Middle School
Vision of Early Adolescence
We see early adolescence—also known as junior youth—as representing a special period of life with unique needs and vast potential.
At the transition between childhood and youth (11-15), they encounter a range of changes within themselves and form a sense of their identity and their relationship with society which shapes the rest of their lives.
Therefore, programmes for this age should engage their interests, mould their capacities for service, and involve them in meaningful social interaction with peers and older youth.
Middle School Programme
In light of this vision, our middle school program focuses on the moral and intellectual empowerment of students.
It assists them to gain proficiency in various academic disciplines while also helping them develop their spiritual perception, powers of expression and a sound moral framework to guide their decision making.
An administrator and select team of teachers have been selected and trained to work with this special age group.
Important elements so the middle school programme include the Moral Empowerment Through Language Programme, rigorous academic content that prepares students for the Cambridge IGCSE and International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme, and annual camps.
Moral Empowerment Through Language Programme
For over a decade we have integrated the Moral Empowerment Through Language Programme (METL) during character development class time. The program aims at awakening junior youth to their potential, developing their talents, and directing their new abilities toward service to their communities.
Teachers accompany pairs of Form 4 students each week to engage groups of five to eight Primary 6 and Form 1 students. They explore materials which includes stories of junior youth from around the world and are encouraged to apply the embedded concepts to their own lives. The group also comes up with ways to carry out acts of service to improve their surroundings.
At an age when they are developing new intellectual, spiritual and physical powers this program provides them with the tools needed to combat the forces that would rob them of their true identity as noble beings and to work for the common good.
English
The English program is organised into three interrelated areas that enrich students’ skills, knowledge, understanding and application of the English language.
Students learn to listen to, read, comprehend, view, speak, write, create and reflect on increasing complex and sophisticated spoken, written and multimodal texts across a growing range of texts with accuracy, fluency and purpose and become confident and creative thinkers.
They develop the capacity to retrieve information, interpret, make and support inferences, evaluate, inquire, and use language features, forms, conventions, and text structures in imaginative, informative and persuasive texts.
Mathematics
In the Maths learning area students build capacity for increasingly sophisticated abilities, applying logical thinking, analyzing, proving, verifying, inferring, justifying and evaluating.
The program focuses on robust knowledge of adaptable and transferable mathematical concepts, the development of proficiency of understanding, fluency, problem solving and reasoning.
Students develop the ability to make choices, interpret, formulate and investigate problem situation and apply their transferrable skills.
Science
The Science learning area is a body of knowledge composed of the three interrelated areas of Physics, Biology, and Chemistry.
The program aims to foster in students interest in all the three disciplines of Science and curiosity to explore the world around them.
Students gain skills, knowledge and understanding based on theories, observations, explanations, and experiments by engaging in scientific inquiry activities. These involve posing questions, planning, conducting experiments, critiquing, investigating, analyzing and interpreting evidence and communicating findings.
Social Studies
Students study, distinct geographical features, and significant historical events in ancient societies, investigate their influence socially, culturally, economically and politically both in the past and the present.
The focus is acquiring the skills, knowledge and understanding of terms and concepts; historical questions and research; analysis and critical use of sources; perspectives and interpretations; explanation and communication with an emphasis on the development of informed and defensible responses to inquiry questions.
Chinese
All students study Mandarin Chinese as a second language, which is split into two streams.
The higher stream is suited for native-level instruction, the other stream supports the learning of non-native Chinese speakers.
Camps
Camps have come to play a key role in the Middle School calendar.
Held for several days outside of Macau, students can engage with each other and teachers in a setting close to nature and outside of their normal routine.
Camps have proven to be quite popular and an ideal forum to develop teamwork and reflect on inspiring ideas for personal growth and service to others.