Academics
Middle Division (5-8)

Eighth Grade Signature Experience

Out of Many, One: My Story in the Midst of Our Story
Casady School has launched a signature enrichment experience centered on the democracy of our Nation culminating in a trip to Washington, D.C., for our eighth grade students. This formative and summative program explores the epicenter of our democracy—both its foundational institutions as well as its societal resources for education and civic engagement. During this signature experience, student programming is centralized around the National Mall, where we explore the monuments, memorials, and institutions of governance that define American politics and policy.
Students engaging in the educational experience develop situational awareness with an itinerary that deliberately moves away from the Mall and its tourists as the week progresses. Washington, D.C., is a city with an identity that is representative of our democracy, both its successes and its missteps. In this context, we will engage with our guiding eighth grade theme, “Out of Many, One: My Story in the Midst of Our Story.” 

Using Casady's Portrait of a Graduate as the primary lens for inquiry and exploration, work begun in our classrooms will continue as we reflect on what it means to be emerging citizens in the American story. This experience serves as a capstone to our eighth grade curriculum and their overall progress as Middle Division students.  

To facilitate the program on the ground in Washington, D.C., we are partnering with Envoys, an educational travel consultant company that will ensure a safe, smooth, and engaging program for our students. Together with eighth grade faculty and administrators, members of the Envoys educational staff will serve as guides for students during the trip.

I Honor | Memory and Meaning

Through activities and discussions centered on various museums,  institutions, and sites of national significance, we reflect on how the diverse narratives around the nation’s formation serve to deepen our understanding of what it means to "be an American." Students will look at these sites through different lenses and themes, incorporating not only social studies and history, but math, science, and the arts, as well. Eighth graders will likewise consider the meaning of the American story and the role of key individuals and groups in shaping that story.

I Engage | Democracy and Civic Education

Civic education plays a crucial role in shaping responsible and engaged citizens within a society. It is a process that equips individuals with the knowledge, skills, and values necessary to actively participate in their communities and make informed decisions about issues that affect them and their fellow citizens. By providing a deep understanding of democratic principles, human rights, and the functioning of government systems, civic education empowers individuals to become active participants in shaping the society in which they live. In this program, students practice structured, respectful, engaged dialogue framed as an essential component of our obligations as citizens.

I Learn | Ideas and Historical Foundations

Prior to our arrival in Washington, D.C., and central to their Civics class curriculum, students examine the institutions, systems, and procedures that comprised the development of American democracy. Eighth graders consider the foundational ideas and tension between individual freedoms and societal good, and the importance of an educated and vigilant citizenry. Civics classes also delve into the concept of responsibility for one’s country by highlighting the range of duties entailed by citizenship, including service to one’s country, informed participation in the voting process, and organized demonstrations against abuses of power.
9500 N. Pennsylvania Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73120     |     Phone: (405) 749-3100
Casady School is an independent, co-educational, college preparatory, Episcopal day school serving students in pre-k-12. Educating Mind, Body, and Spirit.
Casady School is a PreK-12, independent, college preparatory Episcopal day school committed to deeper-level learning. Casady School welcomes a student body that reflects the diversity of the world around us and therefore does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, nationality, or ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletics, and other school-administered programs generally accorded or made available to students at the School.