Middlesex Middle School
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| Type | Public secondary |
|---|---|
| Principal | Debi Boccanfuso |
| Grades | 6 - 8 |
| Location | Darien, Connecticut, USA |
| District | Darien Public Schools |
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Middlesex Middle School is a middle school in the Darien Public Schools district in Darien, Connecticut. The school serves students from sixth through eighth grades.
The school has three floors. The top floor for houses sixth grade classrooms, the second floor houses seventh grade classrooms and the first floor houses eighth grade classrooms. In addition, each grade is divided into three or four sections depending on the amount of students in that grade. These sections are referred to by color. The sixth grade is composed of the red, silver, bronze and orange teams. The seventh grade is made up of the aqua, purple, blue and gold teams. And the eighth grade is made up of the green, maroon, navy and tan teams. However, new teams are added and removed depending on the amount of students. The sixth grade teams each have a teacher for math, social studies, science, LA 1 (reading), LA2 (writing) and foreign language, which can be either French or Spanish. Each seventh and eighth grade team has a teacher for social studies, science, math, English and foreign language. One team's teachers may change year to year, as such moves are necessary to accommodate the increasing amount of students.
IDEA, an enrichment course, is available for students with above-average IQs. Each grade has its own IDEA classroom and a specific concept of study each year.
The school received a $50,000 grant in the summer of 2007 from the Darien Technology & Community Foundation to purchase 25 iMac computers, high-definition camcorders, digital cameras and related software. The equipment is for the Computer Video Production Studio in Lab 130 at the school. Students use video technology to make visual records of science experiments, producuce historical documentaries and create short films.[1]
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[edit] Awards and recognition
Middlesex has been selected as a National Blue Ribbon School.[2]
Middlesex takes advantage of its location in a wealthy neighborhood to make generous donations to charity organizations such as UNICEF. For example, the school has been the nationwide leading contributor to UNICEF for 2004 to 2006, based on its size.[3] In addition, a daffodil drive is held every year to help raise money for cancer. In May 2006, American Idol winner Clay Aiken made a surprise visit to the school in gratitude for its UNICEF contributions of $14,000 that year.[4]
In Feb. 2007 Middlesex MathCounts team won the first prize in the South-Western CT MathCounts competition, while the team captain 8th grade student Michael Kushnir won the individual 1st prize. The team went on to CT state MathCounts competition to win the 2nd team place, yielding to a perennial champion Hopkins School. Michael advanced to the second round -- CountDown -- to win the 2nd place there.
In the school year of 2007 and 2008, the school helped Good Morning America's coat drive. Thay were the second largest contributer right behind Burlington Coat Factory who was Number One. Thay Normally helped with a coat drive of their own, but when the Student Counsil and the School's Newspaper (The Dragon) teamed up, they worked together to get the stundents to contribute lots of coats to this cause.
[edit] History
The 1937 school building, a brick Colonial revival structure, sits on a 27.34-acre[5] site at 204 Hollow Tree Ridge Road. The building underwent a major, $27 million addition and renovation in the late 1990s, which was completed in 2000.
In 1983, Middlesex was changed from a junior high school to a middle school.[2] The ninth grade was transferred at that point to Darien High School.
Since 2005, the school district has been gradually equipping the school with air conditioning.[6]
[edit] Sporting Events
After-school sports are very popular at Middlesex. The sports start in the fall, and continue through the spring. All sports are either refereed or managed by various teachers. Thes ports in order are, Soccer, Flag Football, Ping-Pong, Volleyball, and Basketball. The two most popular sports are football and basketball, each of which has a league for 6th and 7th graders, and a separate "elite" league for the 8th graders. Middlesex's gyms and large amount of field space usually are occupied by a travel basketball team or a town soccer game. In Physical Education, students play an array of sports from handball to track and field, and lacrosse.
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[edit] Darien to Darién Program
The Darien to Darién Program was set up in March of 2008to help a school in Darién, Panama (which is the original Darien). The MMS Talent Show went on in May of 2008 to help the school in Darién, Panama get a computer lab as a way to communcate over the internet by e-Mail and Bloging. The school started a blog that can be reached to by the Middlesex Middle School Home Page or at the bottom of this page. The blog is a way to talk to each other over the Internet.Darien a Darién Program Blog The school hopes that this will grow into a greater relationship. The School in Darién, Panama has also suggested the school may be able to visit somtime in the future. The greater relationship between these to schools are getting closer. The two schools are trying to bulid a bridge to Darién, Panama. This program will bulid a great relationship between the two schools.
[edit] Pictures
 Entrance |
 The cupola can be seen from I-95 and has antennas behind it |
 Former front door |
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Middlesex receives $50,000 tech grant", no byline, news article in The Darien Times, August 9, 2007, p 18A
- ^ a b [1]Web page titled "Welcome from the Principal" at Middlesex Middle School Web site, accessed June 21, 2007
- ^ "Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF kicks off" (no byline), news article in The Darien Times weekly newspaper in Darien, Connecticut, October 26, 2006
- ^ [2]Shultz, Susan, "'Idol' surprises Middlesex / Clay Aiken visits school after students raise the most for Unicef", news article in The Darien Times, May 18, 2006, page A1, accessed June 21, 2007
- ^ Darien Parks and Recreation Department "Spring & Summer 2007" brochure, page 3
- ^ Amoroso, Austin, "Finance notes: Hindley elementary to get a modular classroom", article in The Darien Times, February 15, 2007, accessed via NewsBank Web site (www.newsbank.com) on November 15, 2007
[edit] External links
- [3] Middlesex Middle School website
- [4] Great Schools web pages about the school
- [5] Darien Plubic Schools Website
- [6] Darien High School Website (DHS)
- [7] Darien a Darién Program Website
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