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Student Life

students cheer in dress uniform at all-school assembly

Our middle school focuses on each student’s journey, their mindset and their unique developmental needs. Students are encouraged to be proud of their progress, ensuring that they experience challenge and success, and continue to know themselves better. We aim to teach students how to accept and learn from mistakes and to appreciate how failure can help them grow intellectually, socially, emotionally and physically.

Student Well-Being

Support Services

The Support Services Team provides services to students, faculty and the Bishop's community to promote self-understanding, develop interpersonal relationships and hone problem-solving and decision-making skills. The team offers counseling, developmentally-appropriate guidance and referrals as necessary. Our purpose is to assist students to grow personally, socially, emotionally and academically, as well as develop their sense of personal responsibility.

Student Activities & Leadership

Period X

Middle school presents an amazing opportunity for students to try new things or to continue with sports and interests they already have. Period X is one of the favorite times of the regular instructional day and is scheduled two to three times each week in the afternoon. At each trimester, students self-select from an expansive array of athletic, extra and co-curricular offerings. There are multiple levels of sports teams, ranging from purely recreational to competitive, with some playing games as part of the South Coast Middle School League. Bishop’s abides by a “no-cut” policy. For team sports, all athletes will be on a team based on their skills and experience. The focus is on fundamentals and fun! In addition to competitive sports, Bishop’s offers all middle school students a comprehensive physical education program. There are also Period X offerings each trimester in the arts - like Bishop’s Rocks instrumental music and choir - and academics  - such as Junior Model United Nations, robotics and speech and debate.        

Clubs

Clubs allow students to explore opportunities they've yet to uncover, find strengths they didn’t know existed, and fuel their passions. Clubs are run by middle and upper school students, and provide opportunities for leadership and collaboration with other students outside of the classroom.

Middle School Associated Student Body

In any given year on campus, some clubs focus on helping others, such as Refugee Relief and Global Citizens Club, and affinity groups that help students learn about their personal identity, including the Student Diversity Alliance and the Latino American Student Organization. Other clubs focus on students’ personal interests or community service. In any middle school club, members learn what it takes to work together while having fun.

Retreats

Bishop’s offers retreats for each grade level. Each experience is different and tailored with students' ages in mind. We retreat at the beginning of the school year because it is a great time to focus on non-academic experiences and help students bond with each other and with their teachers. The concentrated time together outside of the classroom allows students to show a different side of themselves. Shared time together also helps students develop closer and deeper connections with their peers. Positive relationships have been shown to reduce the level of anxiety and depression that people may feel. In addition, time in nature has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety

In our experience, everyone who participates in our retreats returns to campus with a deeper, better sense of those around them and a renewed enthusiasm for school!