Heritage Middle School
| Heritage Middle School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
|
20 Foxcroft Drive Livingston, NJ 07039 | |
| Information | |
| Type | Public middle school |
| School district | Livingston Public Schools |
| Principal | Patricia Boland |
| Asst. Principal | Scott Axmann |
| Faculty | 70 (on FTE basis)[1] |
| Grades | 7-8 |
| Enrollment | 798 (as of 2007-08)[1] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 11.4[1] |
| Campus type | Suburban |
| Color(s) | Blue and White |
| Team name | Eagles |
| Information | 1-973-535-8000, ext. 8091 |
| Website | School website |
Heritage Middle School is a public middle school in Livingston, in Essex County, New Jersey, as part of the Livingston Public Schools. It is the only public school in Livingston that serves students in seventh through eighth grade, receiving sixth grade graduates from Mt. Pleasant Middle School. After completing eighth grade, students continue to Livingston High School.[2] Heritage Middle School is known for winning many academic competitions at state and national levels.
Curriculum
Core academic program consists of mathematics, integrated reading and language arts, science, world language (Spanish, French, Italian, or Chinese), social studies, and exploratory cycles. The exploratory cycles include computer science, technology, consumer science, art and music.
The school-wide enrichment activities are part of the gifted and talented program which includes offerings on Academically Speaking – county competition on knowledge of almost all subjects, Knowledge Master Open, Stock Market Simulation, and New Jersey State Bar Foundation's Law Adventure.[3]
The school also offers after-school co-curricular program that includes music ensembles, drama, student government, MathCounts, school newspaper, Courtyard/Gardens Club, intramurals, and interscholastic sports.[2]
Extracurricular activities
FemGineers
FemGineers (Female Engineering Club) is a program in Heritage Middle School led by technology teacher, Kenneth Zushma, to encourage female students to participate in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). The program was founded with 10 eight-grade girls to participate in engineering-based competitions. In the five-year period after the establishment of the program, the size of participant increased to 60 girls. The Board of Education of the Livingston Public Schools also supported the initiative by the mean of funding its technology lab. A review in 2013 by the American School Board Journal found that the program resulted in an improvement in standardized math test scores and more female students continued to enroll in higher-level math classes when they enter Livingston High School. However, the future career decisions for those participants are still yet to be seen. The journal awarded the program as one of the winners of the 2013 Magna Awards in the category of public school districts with 5,000 to 20,000 enrollments in the United States.[4]
Additionally, the National School Boards Association listed the FemGineers program and the technology teacher in its "20 to Watch" in 2013 citing the program's attempt to address the gender equity concern in STEM initiatives.[5]
Awards and recognition
Heritage Middle School participates in many competitions at county, state and national levels. Furthermore, students formed teams to compete in extracurricular competitions. Recent accomplishments include:[6]
- Ranked #1 out of 195 schools in 8th grade 2008-2009 New Jersey Mathematics League contest[7]
- National first place winner in the Continental Mathematics League/Euclidean Divisions 7 and 8
- First place in the regional chapter of the New Jersey Society of Professional Engineers MathCounts competition
- Ranked #1 in New Jersey in Life Science and General Science in the National Science League competition. The school was also placed #5 and #7 respectively in the nation.
- Twelve Heritage Middle School teams earned Silver Toward Satori, the highest level in the National Talent Network’s Cognetics Program for problem solving organized by Educational Resource Information and Resource Center (ERIC).
- Ranked #1 in New Jersey for Spring 2011 Knowledge Master Open. It was also ranked #19 out of 604 middle schools in the United States and other countries.[8]
- Honorable Mention in grade 7 category of 2009 New Jersey State Bar Foundation's Law Fair[9]
- In 2009, Landroids – a team of six Heritage Middle School students and one student from Peck School[10] – is the First Place Champion's Award winner in 2009 FIRST LEGO League U.S. Open Championship, a national robotics competition.[11][12]
- A finalist in the National Technology Student Association Conference.[13]
- Winners in regional Future City Competition[14]
Administration
- Patricia Boland, Principal
- Scott Axmann, Assistant Principal
- Robert Grosso, Assistant Principal[15]
Building & Facilities
Heritage Middle School building and fields are used after school hours for other activities such as soccer tournaments.[16] Livingston Chinese School – a weekend Chinese language school – is also located at Heritage Middle School.[17]
Notable alumni
- Chris Christie (born 1962), New Jersey Governor.[18]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Heritage Middle Sch 2007-08 School Report Card, NJ Report Cards - accessed May 20, 2009
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Heritage Middle School Facts, Heritage Middle School - accessed May 20, 2009
- ↑ GT/E, Heritage Middle School - accessed May 20, 2009
- ↑ "2013 Magna Awards". American School Board Journal: 12. 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
- ↑ "NSBA’s Technology Leadership Network announces 2013 class of "20 to Watch"". School Board News Today (National School Boards Association). Retrieved 10 July 2014.
- ↑ Board of Education Proclamations Meeting Agenda, Livingston School District, June 16, 2008 - accessed April 19, 2009
- ↑ 2008-2009 CONTEST SCORE REPORT SUMMARY FOR GRADES 6, 7, AND 8,New Jersey Mathematics League - accessed April 19, 2009
- ↑ Spring 2011 Knowledge Master Open Middle School Division, Knowledge Master - accessed April 29, 2011
- ↑ Law Fair and Law Adventure Mock Trial Competition Winners to Present Their Cases ,NJSBF, March 17, 2009
- ↑ Livingston Robotics Club is Now Part of HCHY, Healthy Community Healthy Youth Initiative of Livingston, Inc - accessed May 20, 2009
- ↑ Livingston students come for the robots, they stay for the science, The Star-Ledger , May 18, 2009 - accessed May 20, 2009
- ↑ Team Landroids US Open Results, HCHY News - accessed May 20, 2009
- ↑ 2011 National TSA Conference Results, TSA - accessed December 10, 2011
- ↑ Future City Competition New Jersey Region, ASCE North Jersey Branch - accessed December 10, 2011
- ↑ "About Us". Livingston Public Schools. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
- ↑ Directions to Heritage Middle School, Essex Fall Tune-up Soccer Tournament - accessed May 20, 2009
- ↑ Contact Us, Livingston Chinese School - accessed May 20, 2009
- ↑ O'Brien, Kathleen. "Gov. Christie's attitude toward N.J. education bewilders, hurts his former teachers", The Star-Ledger, 22 August 2010. Accessed 2 April 2013. "At Heritage Junior High, he was class president in ninth grade — a feat he repeated all three years at Livingston High School for the Class of 1980."
External links
Coordinates: 40°47′02″N 74°20′27″W / 40.78398°N 74.34076°W