The Riviera Ridge Middle School Curriculum and Signature Programs are uniquely tailored to honor the individual development of each student.
At the heart of it all is our nurturing and experienced faculty as they lead with passion while also taking the time to build relationships with students and getting to know them as individuals.The Riviera Ridge Middle School experience provides a robust and vigorous curriculum to each student that fosters problem-solving and critical thinking skills through authentic learning opportunities layered with real-world applications, and hands-on activities.
Middle School Core Curriculum
The Riviera Ridge School helps its students find their joy as they become active citizens of the world. Preparing students for the next stage of life is their strength and is why my family chose to send our daughters there from JK through 8th grade. ~ Lori Weathers (Alumni Parent/Trustee)
Middle School Signature Programs
Middle School Signature Programs include STEAM2 Electives, Kaleidoscope, Middle School Honors Initiative, ExSEL, Success Seminar, and SEEK! Exploring our passions, diving deep into our studies, and seeking Purpose Beyond Ourselves, Riviera Ridge Middle School Scholars dream big, do more, and develop their own unique footprint as they prepare to contribute to their community as confident young adults.
Kaleidoscope
During the Middle School years, the Riviera Ridge vision for cultivating social responsibility and empowering individual potential grows even stronger.
In 6th grade Service Learning & Leadership, students learn about philanthropic leadership create their own Service in Action Project supporting a local or regional non-profit agency.
In 7th Grade, the study of Ethics and Morality allows students to reflect on how they make decisions and examine their own beliefs and moral frameworks, as well as the ethics of others.
In 8th Grade The Kaleidoscope Program culminates with a in-depth and comprehensive study of Comparative Religions. Our 8th grade leaders graduate from The Riviera Ridge School empowered with a profound awareness for empathy, love of diversity, and immeasurable purpose beyond self.
Now more than ever, we are proud of our unique and deeply rooted Social Emotional Learning (SEL) program at The Riviera Ridge School. As the mental health of all our children continues to be a priority of providing the highest level of academic excellence, numerous studies continue to support the positive long-term effects of social-emotional learning.
Social-emotional learning at all grade levels, with smaller strategic groups with targeted counseling goals like creating positive friendships, or with more individualized support for students going through a period that is particularly difficult. All Middle School students participate in a grade-level SEL course taught weekly by our school counselor, Anna Forterra, LCSW. Middle School Parents are invited to participate in parent coffees and our Community of Belonging parent education series throughout the year.
Middle School Honors Initiative
The Riviera Ridge School offers a variety of optional Honors courses that meet 3 times a week before school starts for advanced students looking for additional learning opportunities.
The Riviera Ridge Middle School Success Seminar is a universal learning support program to build individual capacities for lifelong learning through a student-centered curriculum.
Success Seminar, led and taught by our Middle School Division Coordinator provides all Middle School scholars with the unique opportunity to develop and implement individualized study skills and learn about their developing brain within an academic context.
Together, students explore the various functions and strengths of the adolescent brain to better understand how they each learn best as an individual. Students build the vital executive functioning skills needed to achieve personal academic success through regularly practiced strategies.
Learning to cook while studying the cuisine of Italy.
Designing a 3D tool for the International Space Station.
Practicing yoga in the Mediation Garden on a school day.
Traveling to the Caribbean to collect data on sea turtles and coral reefs for scientists.
Singing and Dancing your heart out in a Musical.
At The Riviera Ridge School, we believe that developing a critical curiosity is a benchmark of lifelong learning. Our STEAM2 elective program allows students to develop their talents, passions, and growth mindset through a thoughtful curriculum led by faculty who are passionate about teaching with deep knowledge and a genuine love of the subject matter. All of our classes are interdisciplinary in approach, which allows students to gain a deeper understanding of a variety of topics. We incorporate movement into our curriculum through field trips, projects, and hands-on activities since movement increases brain health, creativity, and innovation.
At The Riviera Ridge School, we want our students to examine the world around them, to find the beauty in differences, and to value multiple perspectives. Through the lens of our signature program, Kaleidoscope, our students are given the unique opportunity to experience and study the traditions and values of world religions and diverse cultures through a global and unifying perspective. Just as a Kaleidoscope reflects light in different ways, our students shine in a variety of ways as well. The Kaleidoscope Program presents students to share what lights them up while illuminating the perspective of others as well. In the same way a kaleidoscope’s rotation presents an ever-changing view, we encourage our students to be tolerant, open, and flexible in theirs. Our students broaden their minds through the study of historical, cultural, ethical, and moral perspectives in a reflective view of world religions.
Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.
- Aristotle
Take a singular part out of a kaleidoscope, and it won’t look like much. It relies on the interconnectedness of each little light. As the sum of its parts, growing and changing with every turn, a stunning tapestry is created. Our students learn that they are part of this tapestry, with each year of study, the knowledge becomes more vivid: they’re connected to something bigger. Religious Traditions Explored include: Buddhism, Catholicism & Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Native American Traditions, Indigenous cultures, Shinto, Sikhism, and Taoism.
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Kaleidoscope | Early Education
The idea that one possesses a purpose beyond self is part of our school’s vision. Our core values are introduced to our students the moment they step on campus. In Junior Kindergarten through First Grade, students delve into literature-based units of study that illustrate our shared values of Joy, Kindness, Diversity, and Ethical Responsibility.
In Junior Kindergarten, students and their families share their heritage and traditions through storytelling and by bringing in food and favorite recipes to share with the class. In Kindergarten students learn ways to solve conflicts by being peacemakers as exemplified by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In First Grade, children learn about being a friend to self and others through powerful stories such as The Rabbit Listened.
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Kaleidoscope | Lower School
An exploration of world religions begins in 2nd grade and continues through 5th grade. The Kaleidoscope Program introduces students to religious traditions through stories of real people, especially children. Students encounter religious traditions authentically, as integral to everyday life, as well as personal and communal identity.
In Second Grade students study geometric patterns of mosaic tiles in mosques and make their own mandalas. In Third Grade, students can be found listening to music from various world religions, studying the importance of the arts through cultural traditions. In 4th and 5th grade, students learn about traditions through guest visits from locals, such as a Chumash elder.
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Kaleidoscope | Middle School
As students enter the Middle School years, our vision of cultivating social responsibility and empowering individual potential grows even stronger. In 6th grade Service Learning, students learn about what it means to be a social entrepreneur and create their own Service in Action Project. In 7th Grade Ethics, students reflect on how they make decisions and examine their own beliefs and moral frameworks, as well as the ethics of others. The Kaleidoscope Program culminates with a comparative and comprehensive study of Comparative Religions in the 8th grade. Our 8th grade leaders graduate from The Riviera Ridge School empowered with a profound awareness for empathy, love of diversity, and immeasurable purpose beyond self.
