Renaissance and Life Skills

Middle school age students are at a unique juncture of their
development.  Not since the first two years of life, have their brains
been so perfectly poised to accept and integrate new knowledge
and experiences. De La Salle offers a number of Renaissance
classes like robotics, chess, swimming, digital media, art, African
drumming, entomology (bug science), year book, creative writing,
and many more.

To help middle schoolers navigate the many changes associated with
these unique years, De La Salle also offers Life Skills classes. With
titles like “Sista’ Keepers,” “Financial Literacy,” “Health and Fitness,”
and “Mr. P’s Guide to being a Gentleman,” these classes address
some of the social and physical changes middle school students
encounter.

Service Learning

Students are also encouraged to participate in community service. Some students choose to help in the neighborhood garden or neighborhood cleanup. Many students volunteer through their church.

Class Trips

An integral part of any education is venturing outside the familiar. Before coming to De La Salle, many students have not visited been beyond the borders of the immediate St. Louis area. To provide this important piece of any holistic education, each spring the sixth graders visit Memphis, seventh graders visit Chicago, and the eighth grade visits Washington, D.C.. Each week long trip includes exposure to different universities in each city: Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Lewis University outside Chicago, and Howard University in Washington D.C.. The possibility of attending a regionally or nationally known college or university does not seem out of the question after students have toured their campuses, talked with college students, and sat in on college classes. In Memphis, De La Salle students also visit the National Civil Rights Museum and reflect on how they might contribute to their communities after bearing witness to many of the gains and sacrifices African-Americans have made in this country. Eighth grade students return to St. Louis with a deeper appreciation for our country’s history after visiting many of the monuments and museums in Washington, D.C.. Many eighth graders talk about visiting the Holocaust Museum and how it invites them reconsider and broaden their idea of racism. Students also take short trips to events at the St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis History Museum, the Sheldon Concert Hall, the St. Louis Humane Society, and Forest Park.