Part of the magic of Annie Wright Schools is what happens outside of class time.
Through activities, community service, student council, outdoor learning opportunities, our signature journeys program and more, teachers challenge students to explore their full potential. The result is an environment where young people of diverse gifts and interests can each find a niche in which to thrive. Our doors open at 7:30 am for Middle School students to come in, socialize, or prepare for their school day that officially begins at 8:00 am. After the school day ends at 3:10 pm, students who stay after school will have 50 minutes of proctored study hall day to get a head start on homework. Students can engage in after-school activities until 6:00 pm.
From adventure to awareness, experiential learning is a highlight of the Annie Wright Middle School experience. Each component of our program promotes building community and confidence as a risk-taker. Experiential learning also transfers the knowledge and skills students develop in the classroom to the world beyond Annie Wright’s hallways.
At the start of each school year, the entire Middle School sets off on an overnight orientation trip. This excursion provides students the opportunity to meet new classmates and faculty, learn about the year ahead, and build a foundation of community through a variety of team-building and outdoor activities.
Middle Schoolers explore curious topics that vary each year and emerge from the passions and imagination of faculty. These two-day mini-courses have included art exploration, ballroom dance, culinary challenges, photography, and geocaching.
Students apply what they learn in the classroom through service to the community. Our program focuses on the ability to impact those in need, both on a local and global scale. Over the three years, students develop from volunteers into service leaders; culminating in the year-long Grade 8 MYP Community Project.
One of the most exciting aspects of our Middle School experience is the journeys program. Following a deliberate sequence through Grades 6, 7, and 8, Middle School Journeys culminate the larger journey that started in the classroom in a variety of subjects. These adventures are tremendous fun and rolled right into tuition.
While physical activity, exploration, adventure, independence, bonding and reflection are essential components of all of these trips, the focus of the journey varies with each grade.
CALIFORNIA
Grade 6 students travel to San Francisco and Monterey, California for four days to study the ecosystems of the rocky CA coast, see design thinking and scientific principles in action at the Exploratorium, marvel at marine life at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and walk (and hike and kayak and tide-pool) in the footsteps of John Steinbeck in the towns of Salinas and Monterey. Curricular focus: Science, Language & Literature and Design
AMERICAN SOUTHWEST
Grade 7 students pursue a program of active, healthy travel for five days in the desert biome of the Southwest, visiting Bryce, Zion, Antelope, Glen, and the Grand Canyons. With those visits and with stops at other cultural and geological sites, students investigate the processes that shape the earth and how humans have come to live and express themselves in that environment. Curricular focus: Science and PHE
COSTA RICA
Grade 8 students travel to Costa Rica for eight days to immerse themselves into the culture and environment of this amazing Central American country. Activities include volunteering at an animal sanctuary, visiting a local school, studying the flora and fauna in a rainforest, and whitewater rafting. The trip also has a strong focus on developing Spanish language skills and is a climax for their Language Acquisition class. Curricular focus: Science, Arts, Language Acquisition and Service
Going beyond the regular academic classes, clubs allow students to delve into their passions or explore new ones. Each semester, students select from a variety of activities that captivate their interests and have included rockwall climbing, robotics and learning to play the ukulele.
Founded in Tacoma, Washington, in 1884, Annie Wright Schools serve students from age three through high school. Annie Wright Lower and Middle Schools offer coed programs in Preschool through Grade 8, while separate Upper Schools for girls and boys offer day and boarding options in Grades 9 through 12. Annie Wright is proud to be an International Baccalaureate World School.