Middle School

Strong academics.
Capstone work.

Sixth through eighth grade in small classes, with academics that prepare students for top-choice high schools and a capstone project presented to a real audience before graduation.

Video Placeholder
A short film: a Page eighth grader walking through the capstone process, from concept to public presentation.
Inside Middle School
“
A Page sixth grader picks a primary track in the Creators Program. By eighth grade, they have produced a capstone project for a real audience: a play, an exhibition, a published collection, an album, or a designed brand.
Page Middle School 6th through 8th
At a Glance

The numbers behind middle school.

8:1

Student-teacher ratio.

Across the entire school. Faculty work closely with every student through three years of escalating creative and academic ambition.

5

Core academic subjects.

Math, language arts, science, social studies, and Spanish. Academic expectations rise sharply year over year toward top-choice high school placement.

4

Concentration tracks.

Performing arts, visual arts, design and production, writing. Middle schoolers select a primary track within the Creators Program.

1

Capstone project.

Every Page student finishes eighth grade by producing a finished creative work and presenting it to a real audience before graduation.

The Curriculum

What students are studying.

Core academic subjects in middle school, taught directly and reinforced through creative application, with academic expectations rising sharply year over year.

Mathematics

Pre-algebra to geometry.

Pre-algebra in 6th, algebra in 7th, geometry or advanced algebra in 8th. Direct instruction with mastery checks, applied through builds, designs, and production work.

Language Arts

Literature and composition.

Critical reading of full-length literature, long-form composition, original creative writing, and analytical essays across drama, fiction, criticism, and journalism.

Science

Hands-on labs every grade.

Earth, life, and physical science with lab work and prototyping. Middle schoolers apply the Invention Convention process to multi-week engineering challenges.

Social Studies

World and US history.

World history, US history, civics, and economics, taught through primary sources and translated into student-written, student-performed work.

Spanish

Spanish through eighth grade.

Reading and writing on grade-level Spanish-language material, conversational practice that scales with proficiency, and continued daily exposure.

Creators Program

Concentration tracks.

Performing arts, visual arts, design and production, writing. By middle school, students choose a primary concentration track within one of the four domains.

Inside a Classroom

An eighth-grade capstone.

A short walk through how the year-long capstone project unfolds. One student, one Creators Program domain, one finished piece of work presented to a real audience before graduation.

01

Choose a domain.

Students select one of the four Creators Program domains for their capstone: performing arts, visual arts, design and production, or writing. The choice is shaped by years of rotation and emphasis work.

02

Pitch the project.

Students propose a specific finished work to faculty advisors: a play, a short film, an exhibition, a published collection, an album, a designed brand. The pitch becomes the year's plan.

03

Build it.

Students execute the project across multiple months with regular advisor meetings, peer critique, and revision. Drafts become finished work.

04

Present.

Eighth graders present the capstone to a real public audience before graduation. Families, peers, and faculty come to see the work.

A Page eighth grader does not graduate by passing a final exam. The eighth grader graduates by producing a real piece of work, whether a play, a film, an album, or an exhibition, and presenting it to an audience that came to see it.
Sixth and Seventh Grade Concentration begins

Where concentration begins.

Two years of choosing a primary creative track and starting to lead real production work alongside academics that ramp sharply.

Sixth and seventh grade is when students move from elementary's broad rotation into a primary concentration track. A student drawn to performance commits to performing arts; a student drawn to visual work commits to visual arts; a student drawn to design and production goes deeper into the technical side of the school's productions.

The Industry Speaker Series cadence is monthly. Students take age-appropriate sessions on creative writing, copywriting and advertising, intellectual property, and how creative businesses actually work. Real production responsibility opens up across the school's all-school productions.

Photo Placeholder
Portrait: a sixth or seventh grader leading a production task or working in their concentration track.
Creators Program

Primary track.

Students choose one of the four Creators Program domains as a primary concentration. Rotation continues, but most studio time goes to the chosen track.

Creators Program

Real production work.

Sixth and seventh graders run lights, design sets, manage front-of-house, and perform leading roles in the school's all-school productions.

Creators Program

Industry Speaker Series.

Monthly sessions with working professionals. Smaller, focused workshops with a working pro sitting in on a specific concentration track.

Eighth Grade The capstone year

The capstone year.

A year-long original project in a single Creators Program domain, finished and presented to a real audience before graduation.

Eighth grade at Page is built around the capstone. Every student produces a finished creative work in their concentration track: a short film, a staged play, a gallery exhibition, a published collection of writing, a produced album, a designed brand for a working business. A finished thing, presented, with the student's name on it.

Alongside the capstone, academic expectations rise sharply. Page eighth graders prepare for placement at top-choice high schools across Orange County and Los Angeles, with a strong placement record. The capstone and the high school placement work are both year-long projects, and they reinforce each other.

Photo Placeholder
Portrait: an eighth grader mid-capstone presentation, real audience visible at the edge of frame.
Creators Program

The capstone.

A year-long original creative project in one of the four Creators Program domains, finished and presented to a real public audience before graduation.

Creators Program

Production leadership.

Eighth graders lead the school's productions: directing scenes, mentoring younger students, running technical departments, leading visual and writing programs.

Academics

High school placement.

Eighth graders prepare for placement at top-choice high schools across Orange County and Los Angeles. The school's placement record is strong, and faculty work closely with families through the application process.

Schedule a Visit

See a middle school classroom.

Tour the campus, sit in on a sixth, seventh, or eighth grade classroom, and watch concentration work, real production responsibility, and capstone planning in motion.

Request a tour
Newport Mesa Hancock Park