Robert Frost Middle School (Montgomery County, Maryland)

Infobox Secondary school
name = Robert Frost Middle School
native_name =

motto = Where Excellence Soars
established = 1971
type = Public Intermediate
category_label =
category =
gender_label =
gender = Coeducational
affiliations =
affiliation =
president =
chairman_label =
chairman =
principal = Dr. Joseph N. Jones
asst principal = Mr. Darryl V. Johnson
Ms. Kimberly Williams
Ms. Diane D'Ambrosio Morris

vice principal =
campus director =
headmaster =
dean =
rector =
founder =
chaplain =
head_label =
head =
faculty =
teaching_staff =
enrollment =
enrolment =
students = 1157
grades_label = Grades
grades = 6-8
address = 9201 Scott Drive
city = Rockville
state = Maryland
province =
oversight_label =
oversight =
accreditation =
athletics =
country = USA
district = Montgomery County Public Schools
Area Four
Wootton Cluster
campus = Suburban
colors = Blue and Gold
mascot = Eagle
newspaper = The Eagle Eye
yearbook =
free_label_1 = Location
free_1 = coord|39.07586|-77.18771|display=inline,title
free_label_2 = Distinctions
free_2 = 1997 Maryland State Blue Ribbon School of Excellence
free_label_3 =
free_3 =
testname =
testaverage =
national_ranking =
website = http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/schools/robertfrostms
nickname = RFMS (pronounced "riff"-miss or "are"-eff-em-"ess")
footnotes =
picture =
image_caption = Arial view of RFMS
picture2 =
image_caption2 =

Robert Frost Middle School is a middle school in Rockville, Maryland. Its namesake is poet Robert Frost. The school was founded in 1971 and is part of the Montgomery County Public Schools system. The majority of the students, after graduating, attend Thomas Sprigg Wootton High School. The current principal is Dr. Joseph N. Jones.Most students who attend Frost go to Thomas Sprigg Wootton High School for high school. Many students, however, qualify for and enter the Science, Mathematics, and Computer Science Magnet Program at Montgomery Blair High School and the International Baccalaureate program at Richard Montgomery High School.

tudent government

Students from Frost actively participate in Student Government Associations at various levels. These include the
*Robert Frost Middle School Student Government Association (school level)
*Montgomery County Junior Council of Student Government Associations (county level)
*Maryland Assembly of Student Councils (state level)

Basketball team

The Frost boys' basketball team had a 28-game winning streak as of their 2004–2005 season until they lost the last game of the season, against Herbert Hoover Middle School. The team won all its games during the 2005-2006 season. During the 2007-2008 season as of February 28 both the boys and girls baskbetball teams at Frost suck.

Math team

The Frost math team won all four meets of the 2005-2006 season, and they even won first place in the county at their first meet, with a record-breaking 57 points. They also won all four of their meets in the 2004-2005 and the 2003-2004 seasons, as well as winning the last two meets in the 2002-2003 season. Hence, the team has been undefeated for the past fourteen meets, and, as of the end of the 2005-2006 season, was fourth in the county overall as well as the top non-magnet team in the county. Some of the math team's players even qualify for the county's ARML math team, a very prestigious honor as it is usually a high-school competition and only the top fifteen middle school students in the whole county are invited. Montgomery County has one of only two middle-school teams in the country at ARML.

Mrs. Smith, algebra teacher and long-time math coach (noted for her fourteen-meet winning streak) is retiring at the end of the 2005-2006 school year, and Mrs. Stolz, another math teacher, will take over.AS of Saturday October 20, 2007 the fall sports teams in RFMS(softball, cross country)haven't lost a single game for the boys and girls teams.

Dessert Theater

Since 2001, the Robert Frost Drama Department directors have created original scripts for the spring production. These shows take a year to plan, four months to prepare and are performed over three days in March. Two of the shows also include dessert, which is served by the cast, in costume, during intermission. Each year, over 200 students audition for a limited number of spots, with fewer than 1/3 making the show.

The shows include:
*2001 - "Rock Around the Clock" - Directed by Donna Paoletti, Valerie Powell, and Julie Gummo
*2002 - "Back to the Future" - Directed by Elaine Lee, Craig McKee, Donna Paoletti, and Valerie Powell
*2003 - "Fifteen Minutes of Fame" - Directed by Elaine Lee, Craig McKee, Donna Paoletti, and Kristen Kaelin
*2004 - "School of Rock" - Directed by Craig McKee, Kenneth Reddington, Jamie Zellers, and Donna Paoletti
*2005 - "The Unusual Suspects" - Directed by Kenneth Reddington, Craig McKee, Donna Paoletti, and Jamie Zellers
*2006 - "Wicked'er" - Directed by Kenneth Reddington and Craig McKee
*2007 - "Blast From the Past"- Directed by Katherine Meyers
*2008 - "Kingdom Of Frost" - Directed by Katherine Meyers, Stephen Fernandes and Kevin Settlage

The cast ranges from 50 - 80 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students who act, sing and dance. Former cast members have also returned to help choreograph and work with the actors and singers.

The crew ranges from 15 - 20 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students who work on painting, wood working, prop construction, and also running the sound and light board. Former crew members have also returned to help paint and construct sets and teach new crew members how to work the sound board, mics, and lights.

Additional lighting and sound equipment is provided through Barry Parzow at Sonic Non-Profit. Barry Parzow also works closely with the directors on sound and lighting logistics, special effects, and blocking.

Music department

The Frost jazz band, concert band, and orchestra compete at a local and national music festival every year. The local festival is part of the Montgomery County Public School system and the national festival was [http://www.educationalprograms.com/frame_fom.html Festivals of Music] up until 2006, when Frost started attending [http://www.all-starmusicfest.com/ Allstar Music] festivals. The chorus also started participating in the local festivals in 2005.

All three bands have earned a "superior", the highest possible rating, at every national festival for the last twenty years. Unfortunately, the concert band broke that trend in 2006 with an "excellent", the next-highest rating. That year, all three bands earned first place in their category (even without a superior rating for the concert band). The orchestra also won the award for the highest single score, and the entire school won the "sweeps" award for the highest average score.

The jazz band also performs yearly at the [http://www.fmjseastcoastjazz.com/ Fish Middleton East Coast Jazz Festival] at the Doubletree Hotel in Rockville, Maryland. The jazz band had two concerts there in 2006, one on Thursday as the kickoff band for the entire festival and one on Saturday during prime time. The jazz band has at least ten performances each year and is regarded as a prominent figure in the middle school music groups. During Jazz Band performances, many students present professional level solos. These range from wind instruments, to brass, to percussion, to the bass guitar.

On Monday, February 19, 2007, the jazz band played at Strathmore Hall in Bethesda. Songs played included: Salsa Caliente, Birdland, Watermelon Man, Witchcraft, Theme from "Shaft," Shuffle Stop, and Tiger of San Pedro.

The Robert Frost Jazz Band has played several concerts this year. The concert band, the orchestra, and the jazz band recently went on a trip to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to play at the Festivals of Music. All three ensembles received a superior rating and first place in each of their categories. The Jazz Band also received a special award for an outstanding rhythm section, including: Jeffery Popkin* and Lauren Zehrung on piano, Michael Coltun* and Alexa Engle on bass, Eric Woodard* and Lauren Cook* on set, and Lauren Fagan* and Sam Aman on vibes.

The 07-08 school year was a successful one for the middle school jazz band. Again, in Virginia Beach at the Festivals of Music, the RFMS jazz band received an award for outstanding percussion section and including: Lauren Zehrung on piano, Alexa Engle and Lily McWilliams on bass, and Jamie Rotbert, Falon Lewis, Sam Aman**.

Frost also has an intermediate band (which sometimes performs at local festivals) and a sixth grade band and orchestra.

The current band director is Kenneth Krohn.Frost also has an excellent seventh and eighth grade chorus directed by Elaine Lee, an alumnus of Frost and Wootton. Lee also teaches Theater and Musical Theater.

cience bowl

:"For more information, see the 2005 national contest results." Robert Frost sent a team to the 2005 Virginia/Maryland Regional Middle School Science Bowl on March 5, 2005. The Robert Frost team won first place in the regional competition and advanced to the nationals, which were held June 23 through June 26, 2005. The team was even publicized in numerous newspaper articles including: [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60399-2005Mar23.html The Washington Post] , [http://www.gazette.net/200511/rockville/schools/264870-1.html Rockville Gazette] , and the [http://www.gazette.net/200511/potomac/schools/264868-1.html Potomac Gazette] and a [http://www.jlab.org/div_dept/dir_off/public_affairs/news_releases/2005/natsciencebowl.html Press release] from the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, the laboratory that hosted the regional event.

At the National Middle School Science Bowl at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado, the Frost team won fifth place out of twenty-four teams in the academic competition and third place out of twenty four teams in the hydrogen fuel cell car competition. The team was again publicized, including mentions in the [http://www.gazette.net/200527/rockville/news/283486-1.html Rockville Gazette] , the [http://www.gazette.net/200527/potomac/news/283346-1.html Potomac Gazette] , and the [http://www.gazette.net/200527/aspenhill/news/283502-1.html Aspen Hill Gazette] , as well as the [http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/nmsb/2005_car_photo_gallery.htm Press release] from the United States Department of Energy website, which sponsored the event.

Civic Literacy Summit

Sapna Khemka, one of five students selected to attend Maryland’s first Civic Literacy Summit (held on January 2, 2007), had previously attended this school. These students later testified in support of Civic Education in school. [ [http://www.gazette.net/stories/020707/potonew232126_32337.shtml "Holton-Arms student presents ideas on civic literacy"] , Gazette.net, February 7, 2007]

Notable alumni

The school's most notable alumni are four of the members of the American rock group Of A Revolution. After Richard On, Benj Gershman, Marc Roberge, and Chris Culos graduated from Robert Frost Middle School, they attended Thomas Sprigg Wootton High School and formed the band.

The radio DJ, Flounder, on the talk show Elliot in the Morning / Flounders Mash Ups on DC101

tatistics

The following are statistics concerning Frost.

Ethnicity

The ethnicity in percentages for Robert Frost Middle School, on the left, and the state of Maryland, on the right, for grades sixth through eight are:

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References

External links

* [http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/schools/robertfrostms/ Robert Frost Middle School] main website
* [http://www.mcps.k12.md.us Montgomery County Public Schools] main website
* [http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/browse_school/md/997/ Robert Frost Middle School data] at greatschools.net
* [http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=4&S=9&Z=18&X=3107&Y=43274&W=1 Robert Frost Middle School aerial] at Microsoft Terraserver