Community Middle School
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| Community Middle School | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| 55 Grovers Mill Road Plainsboro, NJ 08536 |
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| Information | |
| School district | West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District |
| Principal | Arthur Downs, EdD |
| Enrollment |
1,121 (as of 2005-06)[1] |
| Faculty | 117.1 (on FTE basis)[1] |
| Student:teacher ratio | 9.6[1] |
| Type | Public Middle School |
| Grades | 6th to 8th Grade |
| Nickname | Panthers |
| Color(s) | Black, red and white |
| Information | 609-716-5300 |
| Homepage | School website |
Community Middle School is a middle school located in Plainsboro Township in Middlesex County, New Jersey serving students in grades 6 through 8. The school is part of the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District, a school district serving students from West Windsor Township (in Mercer County) and Plainsboro Township (in Middlesex County).
As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,121 students and 117.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 9.6.[1]
The mascot of Community Middle School is the panther, which symbolizes strength, quick thinking, and fierce competition. The school colors are black (for the panther), red, and white.
Community Middle School was the winner of the 2007 National Science Olympiad tournament in Wichita, Kansas.[2]
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[edit] Threats
In the 2006-2007 school year, there were quite a few bomb threats and a gun threat, all being pranks. The first resulted in an evacuation, a search of the school, and disciplinary action towards two high schoolers found guilty for creating a graphite hit list and writing out a threat that claimed that a bomb would go off. The other threats were taken more lightly, at most resulting in the students spending the day in the cafeteria while the school was searched.
[edit] Location
Community Middle School is part of a three-school campus that also includes Millstone River Elementary School, which serves fourth and fifth graders, and West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North, which serves students from ninth to twelfth grade. The district has two additional schools in Plainsboro Township and four other schools in West Windsor Township, which is the site of the district's newer middle school, Thomas R. Grover Middle School.
[edit] Subjects
There are four essential classes in Community Middle School each lasting approximately one hour. Lengths of periods can vary from 40 minutes to 67 minutes. The essential classes are taught by groups of teachers. These teachers and about ninety students make up a team. In each team, there are four (sometimes five) teachers who teach the subjects of IRLA (Integrated Reading and Language Arts), mathematics, science, social studies, and sometimes special services for children. Each grade consists of a group of four or five teams that each teach a group of students. There are also team field trips and team days. In addition to the four basic classes instructed at CMS, there are also three classes that last 40 minutes long. These classes are World Language classes, A-B day classes (also called electives), and cycle classes.
Seventh graders get to pick one elective, and eighth graders get to pick two electives. In sixth and seventh grade, students have their electives every other day and have physical education in place of the days that do not have electives. Eighth grade students have electives opposite each other in somewhat complicated 2-day schedules.
Cycles are extra curricular classes that each student is assigned to every year. Each cycle is a fraction of the year, and each cycle is a different subject. For example, in the 7th grade each cycle is a marking period, on alternating days, and are either Technology, Health, Music, Computers, Art, or Life Skills.
[edit] World languages
There are four languages taught at CMS: Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, German, and French. If students wish to learn German or French, sixth grade is the first grade in which those languages are available to students. Spanish is the sole language available to students beginning at the grades of two and three. In fourth and fifth grade, students are asked to choose between Mandarin Chinese or to continue Spanish. Thus, students continuing to learn Spanish at grades six through eight are generally more experienced in their dialect than students learning Mandarin who are two years behind and French and German students who begin in sixth grade.
[edit] A-B Day Classes
A and B Day classes are electives (chosen by the student) and physical education. There are separate classes for these time slots each day, which alternate every day from the first day of school, an A-day. 6th Grade- A&B days are for one elective (band, choir, orchestra, and study hall) and Physical Education
[edit] Cycle classes
Cycles are sections of the year where students take an additional class on top of the basic classes, world language, and A and B Day Classes. Unlike A and B Day Classes, cycle classes are taught every day, but only for a set amount of days, after which there is a new cycle with a new class. A cycle lasts 30 school days (6th & 7th grades) or 60 school days (8th grade).
- Sixth Grade Cycles: Music, Art, Computer Literacy, Life Skills, Health, Performing Arts
- Seventh Grade Cycles: Music, Art, Industrial Technology, Life Skills, Health, Computer Literacy
- Eighth Grade Cycles: Music, Art, Health
[edit] Honor roll
To be eligible for the Honor Roll, students must attain grades in the "B" range or above. To be eligible for Principal's Honor Roll, which is a slightly greater honor, students may only receive one grade in the "B" range; the other grades must be in the A range.
[edit] Accomplishments
- The Community Middle School Science Olympiad Team was the National Champion at the National Science Olympiad Tournament held at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2005.[3][4] The team included some of the best and most talented students of the school, most of whom have won medals at the Regional, State, and National level. They beat out the reigning champion, Booth Middle School, who had won the National Award for nine of ten years. The Community Middle School team has also won the state title the past five years; their most recent being on March 14, 2006, where they set an all-time New Jersey record of 36 points. They also won the 2007 Nationals tournament held at Wichita State University. On January 8, 2008, the Community Middle School Science Olympiad Team won the Regional Finals with a total of 42 points. On March 11, 2008, the Community Middle School Science Olympiad Team also won the 2008 New Jersey State Finals and will be proceeding onto the National Science Olympiad Competition held at George Washington University on May 30-31.
- Karen Galley won teacher of the year award honors. She also was nominated for ACS Chemistry teacher of the year.
- Daesun Yim, the 2006 National MathCounts champion, attended Community Middle School and won the MathCounts competition in eighth grade.
- Donald Rykett won the 2007 National Chicken Cooking Contest after making his infamous chicken pancakes.
[edit] Administration
- Dr. Arthur C. Downs, Principal
- Donna Gibbs-Nini, Assistant Principal
- Stephanie Leroux, Assistant Principal
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Community Middle School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed January 14, 2008.
- ^ 2007 National Finals Results, Science Olympiad. Accessed May 27, 2007.
- ^ State Board Recognizes Winning National Science Olympiad Team, New Jersey Department of Education press release dated September 7, 2005.
- ^ National Science Olympiad - May 21, 2005 - Division B. Retrieved on 2006-10-14.
[edit] External links
- Community Middle School
- Community Middle School's 2006-07 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
- National Center for Education Statistics data for Community Middle School
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