| Joaquin Miller Middle School | |
|---|---|
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"Pursuing Excellence in a Caring Environment."
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| Address | |
| 6151 Rainbow Drive San Jose, California, Santa Clara County, 95129 United States |
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| Information | |
| Founded | 1959 |
| School district | Cupertino Union |
| Principal | Sal Gumina |
| Vice principal | Amy Steele |
| Grades | 6–8 |
| Color(s) |
Black
Yellow
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| Mascot | Mustangs |
| Newspaper | The Miller Mustang |
| Yearbook | The Golden Hoofprint |
| Information | 408-252-3755 |
| Website | Miller Mustangs on TeacherWeb |
Joaquin Miller Middle School, commonly referred to as Miller Middle School, is a co-educational, public middle school which teaches grades 6-8 in the West San Jose area of San Jose, California, USA near Cupertino. Miller Middle School is part of the Cupertino Union School District. Its official mascot is the Mustang. It was named after 19th century poet Joaquin Miller.
Most students come from Murdock-Portal, Blue Hills, John Muir, Meyerholz, Dilworth, Eaton, De Vargas, Faria and McAuliffe elementary schools. Most graduates of Miller Middle School go on to attend Lynbrook High School, in the Fremont Union High School District, the neighboring secondary school.
Miller is a California Distinguished School.
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Miller was named after the 19th Century poet Joaquin Miller. Miller started in 1959 with a couple classrooms, quad, and library with orchards in the background. The 2009-2010 school year marked Miller's 50th anniversary. Joaquin Miller also has a road named after him.
For more info: Miller Calendar
Miller's Electives include:
Miller Idol is one of the biggest events held in Miller. It is a singing competition held by the Student Government of Miller. It consists of four judges, representing the four current judges of American Idol. There are two rounds to this competition. The first round, or audition round, consists of applicants who audition, then are hand-picked by the judges to go to the final round. In the final round, the students vote to determine the winner. The winner of miller idol for 2010-2011 was Jennifer Lee.
WEB is a program at Miller that stands for “Where Everyone Belongs." WEB leaders are eighth grade students who help sixth grade students transition from elementary school to middle school. WEB leaders are nominated by teachers at the end of their seventh grade year. Right before the beginning of the school year, WEB groups get together and the WEB leaders show the sixth graders the school and play a few games. The school additionally hosts a "W.E.B. carnival" for sixth graders mid-year and two "Mustang Corrals" each year, in which the entire student body can participate in various games and activities. Corrals include dancing, dunk tank, mountain climbing, food, jump house, and more. The school began to host Mustang corrals again in the 2004-2005 school year. The 6th graders can also enjoy the W.E.B. Movies.
The Student Council includes the President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, 2 Social Chairs, and the Sergeant-at-arms, with representatives from each grade and a representative from each classroom. Student Council elections take place every September. In total, there are 7 officers, 3 representatives, and 2 green officers. The green officers are nominated by the President and Vice President of the Student Council. The 3 representatives represent each grade level to the School Site Council.
Each year, eighth graders travel to Washington, D.C. in the spring break. Miller 8th graders have attended this trip each year for over 30 years.
Miller students have a passion for excellent music. There are three Beginning Bands, three Mustang (intermediate) Bands, one Advanced Band, one Beginning Choir, and one Advanced Choir. Choir, Advanced Choir, Mustang Band, and Advanced Band have trips not only to other schools to compete or perform, but also around the state, and sometimes even the country. In April 2008, the Advanced Choir traveled to Orlando, Florida. Both Choirs perform at yearly festivals and win many awards. The Mustang Band has performed in the past at Homestead High School, Saratoga High School, American High School in Fremont, and traveled to Six Flags in Vallejo. The Advanced Band also travels to and performs at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park, and has performed at Santa Monica College, Fullerton College, Cal State Fresno, Clovis North Educational Center, Biola University, and has recorded a studio soundtrack session backstage at Disneyland every year during the annual Disneyland trip.
Every year, students from Toyokawa, Japan come to visit Miller for two days. The visit is usually in September. Miller students, as well as students from other Cupertino Union School District schools, visit Toyokawa, Japan in the summer of every year.
Every morning, Miller's Communication Arts class records and broadcasts the daily announcements. Students announce school news, including sports, clubs, contests, etc. The Principal or Assistant Principal may also make an announcement. Special features include Words of Wisdom and "public service announcements" which are usually funny videos concerning rules or other Miller issues of concern made by the Communication Arts class.
Enrollment at Miller Middle School in 2010-2011 is approximately 1,300 students. The majority of Miller's student body is Asian-American, with over 76.9% being Asian and 19.6% being white. 5% of the school is in the Special Education program. The school investment for each student is $6,907 while the state average is $4,743.[1]
Miller has a strong math department. Tests and homework are frequent. The school hosts the AMC and had 9 AIME qualifiers and had no USAMO qualifiers in 2011. It also won 5th place at the Northern California MathCounts Competition [2] and has gotten 1st place 11 times at SCVMA for the past 25 years.
Miller Language Arts classes use traditional methods of teaching as well as modern technology. The EETT program (enhancing education through technology) allowed every Language Arts classroom to have a full set of MacBooks.
Miller’s science classes engage students in labs and hands on experiments. The curriculum for sixth grade is earth science, life science for 7th, and physical science for 8th.
Miller Middle School has a Social Studies program designed to prepare students for today's global world. It teaches different cultures, histories, and geographies. The classes are filled with simulations, activities, and educational curriculum related movies. 6th grade learns about Ancient History, 7th grade learns about Medieval History, and 8th grade learns about the US (add-on from 5th grade).
There are softball, volleyball, soccer, and basketball teams which students can try out for. Track and field, wrestling, and cross-country running are teams that any student may participate in with no tryouts or cuts. Miller has had notable volleyball and basketball teams. From the 2005-2007 school year, the boys 7th and 8th grade volleyball teams won back-to-back championships. The girls basketball in the same years won back-to-back undefeated championships as well. In the 2009-2010 year, the girls 8th grade basketball team won the league championships. In the 2009-2010 year, the 7th grade boys track and field team placed first for both the league championships and sectionals. From 2010-2011, the C-Girls volleyball team won the league championships. In the winter of 2011, the 6/7 grade boy's soccer team took first place in the league.
Miller has many clubs and groups.
School publications include:
Two Miller Middle School math teachers have received the prestigious Edyth May Sliffe Award, given annually to approximately fifty math teachers nationally: Ingrid Lu (2001) and Pallavi Rajendra Shah (2002). Shah has met President George W. Bush with her team in Washington D.C..[4]
In the school year of 2010-2011, the Miller Middle School Program sent a team of debaters to the national competition in Claremont McKenna College. The team ranked in the top fifty schools in the nation and consisted of Alvin Fan (7th), Dhruv Walia (8th), and a member from Sunnyvale Middle School Austin Liang (8th). The three debate prodigies are now under Captains Henry Park (10th) and Daniel Shangguan (10th)'s coaching.
In the 2008–2009 school year, Miller Middle School was awarded the California Distinguished School Award. This is the 4th time Miller has received this award.
The 2007–2008, 2008-2009 API scores allowed Miller to rank 1st in the Santa Clara County, and 2nd in the state of California.
The Miller Bands and Choirs go to CMEA festivals every year to receive ratings from three judges. In 2010-2011, the Mustang and the Advanced Bands earned Unanimous Superior ratings. In 2009-2010, the Jazz Band, Mustang Band, and Advanced Bands all earned Unanimous Superior for their CMEA Band Festival performances. In 2008–2009, the combined Mustang Band earned Excellent, while Advanced Band earned Unanimous Superior. In 2007–2008, the Mustang Bands earned Superior and Unanimous Superior, and Advanced Band earned Unanimous Superior.
Miller's Choirs have earned Unanimous Superior ratings at CMEA Festivals every year since 2004. Also, Advanced Choir will be performing at the annual state convention in Sacramento. This is a very high honor, as this shows the choir program has a state-wide reputation.
Miller Middle School's Band Department hosts and runs a CMEA Solo and Ensemble Festival held in March at San Jose State University every year. Many music students from all over the Bay area, including many Miller students, perform in the festival. Some students who earn a Superior rating at the local CMEA Solo and Ensemble Festival may go on to perform in the statewide Solo and Ensemble Festival, held in Sacramento.
For the 2008–09 school year, Miller ranked among the top 10 schools for WordMasters. For the 2009-10 WordMasters challenge, Miller ranked top!
Ramya A., from Miller, went to Washington D.C. to perform in the National Scripps Spelling Bee and earned 5th place. She was sponsored by the San Francisco Chronicle.
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