Dag Hammarskjold Middle School

Dag Hammarskjold Middle School
Established	October 12, 1919[citation needed]
Type	Middle School: Public
Principal	Ann Cocchiola
Faculty	70 teachers and 31 support staff
Students	825
Grades	6-8
Location	106 Pond Hill Road, Wallingford, Connecticut, United States
Colors	Red, Black
Mascot	Panther
Website	http://www.wallingford.k12.ct.us/page.cfm?p=450

Dag Hammarskjold Middle School, generally referred to as Dag, is a New Haven County public middle school located on the east side of Wallingford, Connecticut, next to the Lyman Hall High School campus. Dag is part of the Wallingford Public Schools district. It is one of two public middle schools in Wallingford, the other being James H. Moran.^[1]

History

Built in 1961, the school was named to honor the international peace advocate and former Secretary General of the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjöld. The first principal of the school was Dr. Martin Skimmy.^{[citation needed]}

Administration

The current principal of 13 years, Enrico Buccilli, is due to retire at the conclusion of the 2009-2010 school year. He is to be replaced by Ann Cocchiola, who is currently the assistant principal at Cromwell Middle School in Cromwell, Connecticut.^[2][3] In March 2010, Dag's assistant principal, Paul Reynolds, transferred to Rock Hill Elementary School in Wallingford, taking the place of their own principal retiree.^[2]

Renovation

The 1997 renovation and expansion of Dag's three-story plant produced a huge new library/media center which is linked to over 140 student-used computers throughout in the building. Other improvements included a new gymnasium, an occupational/physical therapy room for the physically handicapped, and a redesign of the cafeteria, guidance, and central office areas. Additional teaching areas were also added, making a total of 67 classrooms.

A renovation project that began in 2004 and was completed in the fall of 2006 included an overhaul of the science rooms to facilitate inquiry-based instruction in a laboratory setting. The project also included the renovation of the woodworking and metal shops, making them state-of-the-art facilities. There was also extensive work on building ventilation as well as ventilation and lighting work in the gymnasium, along with any required code updates throughout the building.

References

1. ^ Wallingford Public Schools: Our Schools, http://www.wallingford.k12.ct.us/page.cfm?p=2 
2. ^ ^{a b} Turmelle, Luther (April 16, 2010), Wallingford schools hire 3 to fill principal vacancies, New Haven Register, http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2010/04/16/news/metro/bb5waprincipals041610.txt 
3. ^ Dag Social Invitation, May 14, 2010, http://wallingford.ccsct.com/uploaded/Central_Office/Personnel/dagsocial.pdf 

Coordinates: 41°26′00″N 72°49′09″W / 41.4333°N 72.8191°W / 41.4333; -72.8191