MIDDLE SCHOOL ACADEMY

For students entering grades 6-8, O’Dowd’s Middle School Academy offers a fun and enriching experience on the O’Dowd campus. Our holistic program encourages self-exploration – creating opportunities for students to grow academically, creatively, socio-emotionally, and physically, through hands-on learning, engaging activities, small group work, and sports (basketball, football, soccer, running, and more.) See our sample list of courses below!

Academy Dates and Schedule - 2026

Academy 1: June 15-26, 2026 (no classes June 19)
Mini-Academy: June 29 - July 1
Academy 2: July 6-16

Daily Schedule

Block One 9:00 - 10:00am

Dragon Community 10:00 - 11:00am

Block Two 11:10am - 12:10pm

Lunch 12:10 - 12:55pm

Block Three 12:55 - 1:55pm

Block Four 2:00 - 3:00pm

Adventure Time 3:00 - 4:30pm

Dragon Community Time

Students who choose to take a morning class also participate in Dragon Community Time guided by trained teen camp counselors and supervised by adult staff. In Dragon Community Time, students participate in various fun social and camp activities.

Lunch

Middle School Academy provides a daily lunch option made with organic produce, some sourced from O’Dowd’s on-site Living Lab. For students who enroll in 3 or more courses, daily lunch is included!

Middle School Classes - Sample List

Full list and details will be available on February 2026.

Basketball (Boys and Girls)

Basketball fundamentals and team dynamics, including offensive and defensive concepts.

Public Speaking

Develop public speaking skills while becoming a critical thinker and an informed global citizen.

Drama

Master the basics of acting and musical theater in a fun and safe environment. All skill levels welcome!

Edible Garden Adventure

Learn to grow seasonal vegetables using sustainable agricultural principals.

Health and Wellness

This fun and interactive class teaches students the essentials of staying active, making nutritious food choices, and managing stress through hands-on activities, games, and challenges.

History of Popular Music

From the birth of rock ‘n’ roll to the rise of hip-hop, pop, and today’s viral hits, students will discover how music has shaped culture and inspired generations.

Lights, Camera, Critique!: The Art of Movie Analysis

From cool camera angles and special effects, to the music and sound that set the mood, students will learn how filmmakers create amazing stories to capture our imagination.

Math 1

Fundamental skills for high school algebra, including fractions, decimals, ratios, percentages, and graphing.

Math 2

Algebra skills including order of operations, exponents and radicals, ratios and proportions, algebraic notation, and solving linear equations and inequalities.

Math 3

For students who have successfully completed Pre-Algebra, topics include solving linear equations, slope and graphing linear equations, polynomials and factoring.

Photography

Learn the basic elements of a “Wow!” photograph, with outdoor and indoor shoots, and photo editing programs like Adobe Lightroom.

Reading the Write Way

Improve reading comprehension by analyzing fiction and writing short stories.

Reduce, Reuse, Reimagine: An Intro to Sustainability

This course introduces students to the principles of sustainability and equips them with the knowledge and skills to reduce waste, reuse resources, and reimagine a greener future.