Community Day School Love the learning, Live the Values 

Middle School: At A Glance


Community Day School Middle School (Grades 6-8) provides a joyful educational environment that guides our students to become independent learners, organized time managers, and critical-thinking problem-solvers. Most importantly, CDS middle schoolers become mensch-like leaders with the confidence and skills to make a positive difference in the world.

Middle School students working on robotics
Middle School students in art room
Middle School students work on computer
Middle School students at Shavuot Fest
Middle School students work in campus gardens
Middle School students at Cross Country
MS students work on Chromebooks
Students perform during Middle School Musical
Students wrap tefillin
School spirit on Field Day
Odyssey of the Mind
Middle School students working on computers

General information:

  • Facilities: Athletic field, educational gardens, playground, gymnasium with performance stage, library
  • Technology: SMART Boards and iPads, with PC and Apple desktops and robotics in the Legacy Learning Lab, 1:1 Chromebook program
  • Chugim (clubs): Forensic science, marine biology, Drum Olam, sign language, yoga, ceramics, drone technology, archery, and much more
  • Specials: Art, music, physical education 
  • Extracurricular activities: Student Council, Tefillah Council, spring musical, interscholastic athletics, Odyssey of the Mind, Keeping Tabs docents, Minyan Makers, Instrumental Band, drum ensemble, overnight trips to Washington, D.C., Camp Eder, Israel

Curriculum overview:

  • Science: 6th Grade: Earth & Space Science; 7th Grade: Biology; 8th Grade: Chemistry & Physics; Annual Science Fair for all students (Pittsburgh Regional Science & Engineering Fair for winners and optional PJAS competition)
  • Math: Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Geometry, Course 1, 2, 3
  • Foreign Language: Hebrew NETA curriculum for all grades with a sequential progression of grammar and linguistics; 7th Grade: Introduction to Spanish; 8th Grade: Spanish 1
  • Language Arts: Writing Workshop units and novel studies
  • Jewish Studies: daily tefillah, Jewish lifecycle events, Mishnah, Talmud, history of the Jews in the U.S. and specifically Pittsburgh, as well as the State of Israel and the Book of Judges; 8th Grade: Book of Samuel and comparative religion 
  • Facing History and Ourselves: Holocaust and human behavior curriculum 
  • Social Studies: 6th Grade: World History and Geography; 7th and 8th grades: American History