Upper School

Grade 5 to Grade 8

In Grades 5–8, students deepen their understanding of their community and the world, take on greater responsibility, and grow more independent. Holy Trinity’s commitment to Cura Personalis—care for the whole person—guides their experience. Academically, students engage with a more rigorous, interdisciplinary curriculum that strengthens their analytical thinking, problem-solving abilities, and independence as learners. Socially and emotionally, students are guided to develop a strong sense of self, empathy for others, and the confidence to navigate more complex peer dynamics. Spiritually, students are encouraged to reflect on their values, ask meaningful questions, and live out the Jesuit call to be a Person for Others. With close student-teacher relationships and an emphasis on leadership, the Upper School is a learning environment where students are challenged, supported, and inspired to grow as learners and members of their community.

A smiling boy with braces participating in a classroom science activity, holding a model of the Earth with a small white ball attached representing the moon, on a black base with a stick.

    • Recognize main ideas, draw inferences and make connections in fiction and non-fiction reading

    • Explore scientific methods and foundational scientific principles through hands-on projects and experiments

    • Acquire logic, number sense and scientific inquiry in cross-curricular collaborations

    • Employ technology across the curriculum

    • Utilize geographic skills in acquiring an understanding of American history

    • Gain strong essay writing skills through analysis of prose and verse for sound and sense

    • Explore world geography and the lands and cultures of the Western Hemisphere

    • Focus on the elements and principles of art, art movements and cultures

    • Apply the scientific method to lab experiments, projects and inventions

    • Utilize technology in reading, writing and presentations across the curriculum

    • Look inside poems for sound and sense and find the voice behind the speaker of an essay or narrative

    • Explore the people, cultures and geography of the Eastern Hemisphere with a major focus on Asia,
      Africa and the Pacific

    • Examine and reason using statistics, graphing, algebraic reasoning and probability

    • Focus on life science and learn about cells, heredity, bacteria, viruses and ecology

    • Create Fauve world architecture paintings, pop art still lifes, tessellations and gargoyles

    • Grow as effective writers of English prose that is clear, creative, concise and precise

    • Delve into classical literature through cross-curricular projects including history, drama and music

    • Recognize the doctrinal and personal meaning of the sacrament of Confirmation

    • Graph linear equations and solve systems of equations through operations with polynomials and factoring

    • Explore US history using books, primary sources and field trips to historical sites and museums