Wydown Middle School

Wydown Middle School is a public middle school located in Clayton, Missouri. It is well-known locally for its outstanding intramural programs and its mathematics (ranked top ten in Missouri for excellence in mathematics for schools with over 500 students), and it has been on the top ten list in Math since 1999. The middle school is in the Clayton School District. As of 2007, the school principal is Mary Ann Goldberg, with Mrs. Garganigo and Ms. Kelly serving as her assistant principals. [http://www.westendword.com/moxie/news/clayton-schools-wrestle-w.shtml]

Wydown Middle School was erected in 1942. At this point, Wydown was being used as a junior high school. Because of the large population of students, Clayton High School was created as a complement to Wydown.

The school was recognized by the Blue Ribbon Schools Program for the 1990-1991 school year. [http://www.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/list-1982.pdf] In 2006, it topped the state of Missouri in math scores for non-selective public schools with more than 500 students. [http://www.chs.clayton.k12.mo.us/] The school has remained on the top ten list in math since 1999. [http://www.clayton.k12.mo.us/news/bnews030306.html]

The school was built on a site used during the 1904 World's Fair as an "exhibition" of members of the Philippine Igorot tribe. For a time, the school mascot was threrefore the Igorot. [http://www.webster.edu/~corbetre/dogtown/fair/igorot.html] Now though, it is the "Wydown Wildcat".

Some of the schools extracurricular activities offered include chess club, starfish club, basketball, football, volleyball, S.W.O.O.P., and L.E.A.P.(Environmentalist club), among many others. Foreign languages offered are Latin, German, French, and Spanish, although as of the 2007-08 school year, only French and Spanish are offered in sixth grade. Every other language can only be taken seventh and eight grade.

Eighth Grade Service Day

The [http://wydownconnection.com/8s_misc/eight_south_service_project/index.html / Eighth Grade Service Day] started May 24^th, 2007 at Wydown Middle School as a celebration of the character and experience that eighth grade students have developed during their time in middle school. The general theme of the day is "One More Positive Mark We Will Leave Behind." Toward this theme, students made proposals for projects they would like to complete for the good of the school:
* Participate in a school garden cleanup
* Refurbish and donate computers to sixth and seventh grade students
* Create paintings, murals, and other art projects
* Advertise and promote recycling

The idea for 8th grade (graduates of 2011) service day actually developed during an 8 South team meeting at which the four core teachers Rick Voskuil (Science), Debora Baker (Literacy), Richard Baugh (Social Studies), and David Powers (Math)were discussing team building activities for the closing of the year. They have created impressive works in the core subject areas beyond that of most middle school students. Outside of the core subjects, these students have developed amazing talents in the areas of foreign language, computer science, band, orchestra, choir, the arts, and graphic design, to name a few.

References

*Wydown Middle School Home Page, http://www.wydown.clayton.k12.mo.us/ or for the updated site http://www.clayton.k12.mo.us/wms/site/default.asp
* [http://missouri.schooltree.org/public/Wydown-Middle-049342.html Wydown Middle School profile] provided by schooltree.org