Central Middle School (Quincy, Massachusetts)

Central Middle School is a middle school in Quincy, Massachusetts, United States.

The school, serving grades 6 through 8, is a part of Quincy Public Schools. Principal Jennifer Fay-Beers and Vice Principal Peter Chella cover the school.

History

The school was founded in 1894 in Quincy, Massachusetts. It was originally a senior high school, but in 1924, it became a junior high school. In 1982, Central became a middle school. [ [http://www.quincypublicschools.com/schools/central/main_page.shtml Quincy Public Schools ] ]

Location

Central Middle School is located at 1012 Hancock St. in Quincy Center. It is next to the Dorothy Quincy House and is at the intersection of Hancock St. and Butler Road. Behind Central is Butler Pond. Central Middle School is within walking distance of the Thomas Crane Public Library and the Quincy Center subway stop.

Information

Central Middle School is for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. It divides the grades up into different homerooms, or "divisions". A.P. divisions are the divisions ending in 1, 2, 3, or 4. The Neighborhood divisions end in either a 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9. The division that ends in 9 is the "honors" division.Central is home to the A.P, or Advanced Placement program. It is also houses the E.L.C, or Elementary Laboratory Center. The ELC program is taught by June P. Joyce.

Classes

Students take Mathematics, Language Arts, Science, Reading, and Social Studies. Also, students in 7th and 8th grade take a foreign language, either Spanish or French. There are also specialists, including Art, Music, Technology, Gym, Media(sixth graders only), and Health. There is a 7 day cycle with 6 periods in each day. There are over 600 students in Central.

Staff

The principal of Central is Mrs. Jennifer Fay-Beers. The assistant principal is Mr. Peter Chella. While Mrs. Fay-Beers was on maternity leave, Mr. Steve Sylvia was the acting principal.The former principal Mr.Santoro has moved as Quincy High School's principal.His niece is a third grade math teacher at Bernazzani Elementary located at 701 Furnace Brook Parkway.

Math

*Grade 6 Ms. Corbo
*Grade 6 AP Ms. Shepardson
*Grade 7 Ms. Rosenbaum
*Grade 7 AP Ms. Rosenbaum
*Grade 8 Mrs. Malone
*Grade 8 AP The Kronish

Language Arts

*Grade 6 Ms. Brooks
*Grade 6 AP Ms. Matthews
*Grade 7 Ms. Quinlan
*Grade 7 AP Ms. Bailey Dumas
*Grade 8 Ms. McGuiggan
*Grade 8 AP Mrs. Melia

Social Studies

*Grade 6 Ms. Duffy
*Grade 6 AP Mr. Griffith
*Grade 7 Ms. Williams
*Grade 7 AP Mr. Skowyra
*Grade 8 Mr. Phelan
*Grade 8 AP Mr. Pavao

Science

*Grade 6 Mr. Lenane
*Grade 6 AP Ms. Ahearn
*Grade 7 Ms. Houghton
*Grade 7 AP Ms. Tryon
*Grade 8 Ms. Koestner
*Grade 8 AP Mr. Kane

Reading

*Grade 6 Martland
*Grade 6 AP Ms. Quilty
*Grade 7 Mr. Connerty
*Grade 8 Mr. Connerty [ [http://quincypublicschools.com/schools/central/main_page.shtml#hw Quincy Public Schools ] ]

Foreign Language

Central Middle School offers two foreign languages: Spanish, and French. 7th and 8th graders take one of these two languages. In late 6th grade, students choose which one. Mrs. Kelly teaches 7th and 8th grade French, while Mr. Cordero, Mrs. Matthews, and Ms. Burns teach Spanish. Seventh and eighth grade divisions ending with the number 1 or 7, i.e. 7-1, are Francophone divisions, while 7th and 8th grade divisions ending with the numbers 2 through 6 and 8-9 are Hispanophone divisions. The number of Hispanophones greatly outnumbers that of the Francophones. Mr. Cordero teaches 7 grade AP. divisions 7-3 and 7-4.

Mathematics

In the AP program, 6th graders are required to take Math II, which is currently taught by Ms. Shepardson. Following Math II is Pre-Algebra in 7th grade, taught by Ms. Yannacio. 8th graders are required to take Algebra I under Ms. Kronish.In the neighborhood division of Central students are taught Math I, Math II, and Pre-Algebra, consecutively. The 7th grade "honors" division takes Pre-Algebra, which is taught by Ms. Rosenbaum. Central also has a MathCounts math team, led by The Kronish. The math team has won many times in the past 15 years.

Extra Curricular Activities

Clubs and Activities

The clubs are all part of the Central Works program, led by Mrs. Sarah Ahearn. There are many clubs that students can participate in, which include Lego Robotics, VEX, Yearbook, Youth Council, Senate, Cleaner Greener, Theater, Peer Leaders, Homework Club, Chorus, Band, Math Counts, and Dance Club, among many others. [ [http://quincypublicschools.com/schools/central/main_page.shtml Quincy Public Schools ] ]

Chorus and Band

Central's chorus and band jointly play and sing a performance biannually. They have a Christmas Concert and a Spring Concert. The 2008 Spring Concert was on May 6, 2008 with a arts festival too. Mr. Boel leads the chorus, while Mr. Buckley leads the band. The band is made up of six different instruments; saxophone, clarinet, flute, trombone, trumpet, and drums. There are other percussion instruments (bells, xylophone, etc.) that are played by the drums players, but are not main instruments that are played in every piece. The Chorus is made of three voice ranges: soprano, alto, and tenor, as there are not enough boys with low enough voices to have for the bass range. The chorus sings songs ranging from classical to songs from movies to pop and rock songs.

Athletics

Central Middle School has many athletic teams to join, such as Cross-County, Track and Field, Swimming, Wrestling, Flag Football, Running Club, Early Bird Basketball, Early Bird Soccer, and Volleyball. Central's cross-country team has been the city champions for several years in a row.

Musicals

Central is known for its musical programs. Past plays have been School House Rock!, The Point!, Oliver!, Songs From The Shelves, Coming of Age, and Opening for a Princes. Jacob Smith starred in the Central production of 'The Music Man' in 2000. All are directed by the 7th grade reading teacher Mrs. Margaret Spencer, who studied theater in college before becoming a teacher. December 2007 was Central's musical theater production "Coming of Age", which as the name implies, is about adolescence.

Talent Show

In addition to the many extracurricular activities students at Central Middle School can be in, every year there is a talent show students may participate in a show in which students may show off a talent the student possesses. In 2007 the talent show was canceled due to contract negotiations disputes between the teacher's union and ex-Mayor William Phelan.

Dances

Every year there are some dances held during the school year. Every dance will have a theme or something special as a little touch. It is usually run by the central senate team.

The Fashion Show

Every year, Central Middle School hosts a Multicultural Night, including the cultures of Spain and France. Along with information about the culture presented by the students, there is a fashion show, also by the students. The fashion show is usually about Spanish grammar, and is shown in the auditorium. The French students give presentations and serve food based on French culture. It is run by the heads of the Spanish and French units.

Central's Mascot

The mascot of Central Middle School is a ram. It is often shown in school colors, maroon and gold. On the second floor of the school, there is a large painting of the ram, in Central's colors.

The Ghost of the Girls Bathroom

"A girl who was murdered in 1968 haunts the girl's third floor bathroom. People have reported that her ghost will turn off faucets, lights, and even flush toilets." Some students have been afraid to use the third floor bathroom. Students even say that other bathrooms are being haunted. [ [http://theshadowlands.net/places/massachusetts.htm Shadowlands Haunted Places Index - Massachusetts ] ]

PTO

There are two co-presidents of the PTO at Central. They are Mary Flattery Poluikis and Joanne Minton. The secretary is Janet Stanton. The treasurer is Kathy Hudson McCluskey and the PR is Cindy Leahy. PTO meetings are held monthly and are open to all Central parents. [ [http://quincypublicschools.com/schools/central/main_page.shtml Quincy Public Schools ] ]

enate

The Central Middle School senate is run by Mr. Griffith and Mr. Skowyra. A representing from each homeroom is part of the senate. The mayor and deputy mayor are also in the senate. They meet everyday during homeroom.

References

*Sylvia, Steve. (2008) About Us. Retrieved April 15, 2008 from http://www.quincypublicschools.com/schools/central/main_page.shtml

*"Haunted Places in Massachusetts." Shadowlands Haunted Places. Mar. 2008. 28 Apr. 2008 .

External links

* [http://www.quincypublicschools.com/schools/central/main_page.shtml Central Middle School]