Robert Frost Middle School (Montgomery County, Maryland)

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Robert Frost Middle School

Address	9201 Scott Drive Rockville, Maryland 20850
Contact Information	Phone: 301-279-3949 Fax: 301-279-3956 Counseling Office: 301-279-3965
Established	1971
Community	Suburban
Type	Public Intermediate
Student Body	Co-Educational
Student to Teacher Ratio	18.5
Grades	6 to 8
Enrollment	1157
District	Montgomery County Public Schools Area Four Wootton Cluster
Nickname	RFMS (pronounced riff-miss or are-eff-em-ess)
Mascot	Eagle
Colors	Blue and Gold
Mottoes	School of Excellence Where Excellence Soars
Newspaper	The Eagle Eye
Distinctions	1997 Maryland State Blue Ribbon School of Excellence
School Website	Home Page
Administration Dr. Joseph N. Jones, Principal Mr. Darryl V. Johnson, Assistant School Administrator Ms. Kimberly Williams, Assistant Principal Ms. Diane D'Ambrosio Morris, Assistant Principal

Robert Frost Middle School is a middle school in Rockville, Maryland. Its namesake is poet Robert Frost. The school was founded in 1971 and is part of the Montgomery County Public Schools system. The majority of the students, after graduating, attend Thomas Sprigg Wootton High School. The current principal is Dr. Joseph N. Jones. Most students who attend Frost go to Thomas Sprigg Wootton High School for high school. Many students, however, qualify for and enter the Science, Mathematics, and Computer Science Magnet Program at Montgomery Blair High School and the International Baccalaureate program at Richard Montgomery High School.

[edit] Student government

Students from Frost actively participate in Student Government Associations at various levels. These include the

• Robert Frost Middle School Student Government Association (school level)
• Montgomery County Junior Council of Student Government Associations (county level)
• Maryland Assembly of Student Councils (state level)

[edit] Basketball team

The Frost boys' basketball team had a 28-game winning streak as of their 2004–2005 season until they lost their last game of the season against Herbert Hoover Middle School. They recuperated, though, winning all their games in the 2005-2006 season. During the 2007-2008 season as of February 28 both the boys and girls baskbetball teams at Frost are undefeated. However, for the boys, the season went down hill from their. their lost almost all of the remaining games after February 28. This is a result of a bad team manager known as J Phef. Yeah J Phef sucks.

[edit] Math team

The Frost math team won all four meets of the 2005-2006 season, and they even won first place in the county at their first meet, with a record-breaking 57 points. They also won all four of their meets in the 2004-2005 and the 2003-2004 seasons, as well as winning the last two meets in the 2002-2003 season. Hence, the team has been undefeated for the past fourteen meets, and, as of the end of the 2005-2006 season, was fourth in the county overall as well as the top non-magnet team in the county. Some of the math team's players even qualify for the county's ARML math team, a very prestigious honor as it is usually a high-school competition and only the top fifteen middle school students in the whole county are invited. Montgomery County has one of only two middle-school teams in the country at ARML.

Mrs. Smith, algebra teacher and long-time math coach (noted for her fourteen-meet winning streak) is retiring at the end of the 2005-2006 school year, and Mrs. Stolz, another math teacher, will take over. AS of Saturday October 20, 2007 the fall sports teams in RFMS(softball, cross country)haven't lost a single game for the boys and girls teams.

[edit] Dessert Theater

Since 2001, the Robert Frost Drama Department directors have created original scripts for the spring production. These shows take a year to plan, four months to prepare and are performed over three days in March. Two of the shows also include dessert, which is served by the cast, in costume, during intermission. Each year, over 200 students audition for a limited number of spots, with fewer than 1/3 making the show.

The shows include:

• 2001 - Rock Around the Clock - Directed by Donna Paoletti, Valerie Powell, and Julie Gummo
• 2002 - Back to the Future - Directed by Elaine Lee, Craig McKee, Donna Paoletti, and Valerie Powell
• 2003 - Fifteen Minutes of Fame - Directed by Elaine Lee, Craig McKee, Donna Paoletti, and Kristen Kaelin
• 2004 - School of Rock - Directed by Craig McKee, Kenneth Reddington, Jamie Zellers, and Donna Paoletti
• 2005 - The Unusual Suspects - Directed by Kenneth Reddington, Craig McKee, Donna Paoletti, and Jamie Zellers
• 2006 - Wicked'er - Directed by Kenneth Reddington and Craig McKee
• 2007 - Blast From the Past- Directed by Katherine Meyers
• 2008 - Kingdom Of Frost - Directed by Katherine Meyers, Stephen Fernandes and Kevin Settlage

The cast ranges from 50 - 80 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students who act, sing and dance. Former cast members have also returned to help choreograph and work with the actors and singers. Barney played by Daniel Hamburg was a big hit in 2007! And an even bigger hit was played by Elgin Martin who sung "Nicest Kids in Town" from the musical Hairspray in 2008!

The crew ranges from 15 - 20 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students who work on painting, wood working, prop construction, and also running the sound and light board. Former crew members have also returned to help paint and construct sets and teach new crew members how to work the sound board, mics, and lights.

Additional lighting and sound equipment is provided through Barry Parzow at Sonic Non-Profit. Barry Parzow also works closely with the directors on sound and lighting logistics, special effects, and blocking.

[edit] Music department

The Frost jazz band, concert band, and orchestra compete at a local and national music festival every year. The local festival is part of the Montgomery County Public School system and the national festival was Festivals of Music up until 2006, when Frost started attending Allstar Music festivals. The chorus also started participating in the local festivals in 2005.

All three bands have earned a "superior", the highest possible rating, at every national festival for the last twenty years. Unfortunately, the concert band broke that trend in 2006 with an "excellent", the next-highest rating. That year, all three bands earned first place in their category (even without a superior rating for the concert band). The orchestra also won the award for the highest single score, and the entire school won the "sweeps" award for the highest average score.

The jazz band also performs yearly at the Fish Middleton East Coast Jazz Festival at the Doubletree Hotel in Rockville, Maryland. The jazz band had two concerts there in 2006, one on Thursday as the kickoff band for the entire festival and one on Saturday during prime time. The jazz band has at least ten performances each year and is regarded as a prominent figure in the middle school music groups. During Jazz Band performances, many students present professional level solos. These range from wind instruments, to brass, to percussion, to the bass guitar.

On Monday, February 19, 2007, the jazz band played at Strathmore Hall in Bethesda. Songs played included: Salsa Caliente, Birdland, Watermelon Man, Witchcraft, Theme from "Shaft," Shuffle Stop, and Tiger of San Pedro.

The Robert Frost Jazz Band has played several concerts this year. The concert band, the orchestra, and the jazz band recently went on a trip to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to play at the Festivals of Music. All three ensembles received a superior rating and first place in each of their categories. The Jazz Band also received a special award for an outstanding rhythm section, including: Jeffery Popkin and Lauren Zehrung on piano, Michael Coltun and Alexa Engle on bass, Eric Woodard and Lauren Cook on set, and Lauren Fagan and Sam Aman on vibes.

Frost also has an intermediate band (which sometimes performs at local festivals) and a sixth grade band and orchestra.

The current band director is Kenneth Krohn. Frost also has an excellent seventh and eighth grade chorus directed by Elaine Lee, an alumnus of Frost and Wootton. Lee also teaches Theater and Musical Theater.

[edit] Science bowl

For more information, see the 2005 national contest results.

Robert Frost sent a team to the 2005 Virginia/Maryland Regional Middle School Science Bowl on March 5, 2005. The Robert Frost team won first place in the regional competition and advanced to the nationals, which were held June 23 through June 26, 2005. The team was even publicized in numerous newspaper articles including: The Washington Post, Rockville Gazette, and the Potomac Gazette and a Press release from the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, the laboratory that hosted the regional event.

At the National Middle School Science Bowl at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado, the Frost team won fifth place out of twenty-four teams in the academic competition and third place out of twenty four teams in the hydrogen fuel cell car competition. The team was again publicized, including mentions in the Rockville Gazette, the Potomac Gazette, and the Aspen Hill Gazette, as well as the Press release from the United States Department of Energy website, which sponsored the event.

[edit] Civic Literacy Summit

Sapna Khemka, one of five students selected to attend Maryland’s first Civic Literacy Summit (held on January 2, 2007), had previously attended this school. These students later testified in support of Civic Education in school.^[1]

[edit] Notable alumni

The school's most notable alumni are four of the members of the American rock group Of A Revolution. After Richard On, Benj Gershman, Marc Roberge, and Chris Culos graduated from Robert Frost Middle School, they attended Thomas Sprigg Wootton High School and formed the band.

The radio DJ, Flounder, on the talk show Elliot in the Morning / Flounders Mash Ups on DC101

[edit] Statistics

The following are statistics concerning Frost.

[edit] Ethnicity

The ethnicity in percentages for Robert Frost Middle School, on the left, and the state of Maryland, on the right, for grades sixth through eight are:

[edit] Standardized testing

According to the Maryland School Assessment in 2003, 87% of 8th graders met the state standards in mathematics and 91% in reading. The results of a passing score on the MSA in this school according to race and economic status are shown below:

[edit] References

1. ^ "Holton-Arms student presents ideas on civic literacy", Gazette.net, February 7, 2007

[edit] External links

• Robert Frost Middle School main website
• Montgomery County Public Schools main website
• Robert Frost Middle School data at greatschools.net
• Robert Frost Middle School aerial at Microsoft Terraserver