Middle School Elective Courses
Classes are offered in a variety of strands, including as the arts, athletics, language arts, campus leadership, and more. Courses are taught by Gateway faculty and administration, as well as outside instructors when appropriate.
Campus Apprenticeship Elective
A hands-on elective where students actively care for our campus through real-world projects. From weeding to small repairs, they build practical skills while making a visible impact. Along the way, they develop teamwork, leadership, problem-solving, and a strong sense of responsibility and stewardship.
Ultimate Sports Elective
Students practice a wide variety of games, including pickleball, spikeball, flag football, basketball, floor hockey, moonball, and many others. Throughout this elective, an emphasis is placed on sportsmanship and teamwork. Students are encouraged to support one another through adversity and celebrate the success of others.
Ocean Appreciation Elective
In this elective, students explore tide pools and beaches weekly, observing marine life, birds, and ocean conditions. They collect, sort, and count trash to keep it from reaching the ocean, then turn debris into art to raise awareness. In May, they share their findings at Gateway’s First Friday event.
Create & Craft Elective
Students practice macrame, weaving, origami, and more. They learn each craft’s cultural roots and techniques while making friendship bracelets, pipe cleaner flowers, and fuse-bead art. Projects connect to themes like growth mindset, affirmation, and kind collaboration through discussion and hands-on work.
Random Acts of Kindness Elective
In this elective, students find creative ways to spread joy on and off campus. They’ve made bilingual bookmarks, gratitude posters, and baked for staff. They care for the environment by weeding and picking up trash, and extend kindness even beyond school with projects such as letters to seniors and notes for loved ones.
Advanced Band
In Advanced Band, students rehearse twice weekly to prepare songs for the spring concert, including hits by Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, and Elvis. They explore rehearsal skills, dynamics, triads, and collaboration. This year’s elective wrapped with performances at both the Spring Concert and the Gateway talent show.
Creative Writing Elective
In this year's Creative Writing elective; "The Other Side," students wrote from classic villains’ viewpoints to build empathy and perspective-taking skills. They learned clear communication while understanding some actions can’t be justified. With instructor feedback, they improved show-don’t-tell, character depth, and giving and receiving constructive criticism.
Coding Elective
In Coding, middle schoolers use p5.js to learn programming through art and animation. They explore variables, loops, conditionals, functions, and events via projects and challenges. Students create digital drawings, games, and interactive visuals while building problem-solving, design skills, and confidence for future coding.
Elective Courses give students the chance to develop deeper mastery in areas of their passion and to experiment with new skills.
Middle School: After School Athletics