Sometimes when thinking of the word “middle,” one may assume satisfactory or average. Middle-of-the-pack, middle seat, middle child. That is not the case at Ransom Everglades, where our middle school offers a joyful entry point to our community and magical three-year launch to a seven-year journey. Our middle school students – most of whom arrive in sixth grade from dozens of schools throughout our city, nation and even world – find themselves immersed in an inclusive, vibrant, encouraging community that invites them to explore, grow and learn. Perhaps most importantly, they are surrounded by faculty that clearly understand what it means to provide developmentally appropriate opportunities for students to develop their own version of service, leadership and research while being certain that fun is intertwined at every curve. In the proud tradition of the Everglades School for Girls (the original occupants of the Everglades Campus) and under the expert and thoughtful direction of Head of the Middle School Pete Di Pace and our terrific middle school faculty, the middle school is, quite simply, a very happy place.