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Welcome to Warsaw Middle School… An Exemplary Middle School with
Kids in Focus!
Welcome to Warsaw Middle
School’s website. Located in Pittsfield, Maine, Warsaw Middle School
is a grade 5 through 8 school with an enrollment of 328 students.
We have a teaching staff of 36 professionals who are committed to
the academic and developmental growth of middle school students.
Our students attend high school at Maine Central Institute in
Pittsfield.
During the 2005-2006 school
year, our school received two distinguishing honors. The
National Middle School
Association (NMSA)
published a book and DVD that identified eight exemplary middle
schools nation-wide, and Warsaw Middle School was one of those eight
schools. On the DVD and in the book, This We Believe… In Action,
WMS exemplary practices included Fish Time, our advisory program;
differentiated instruction; our looping teams; and “common
language,” our shared beliefs about teaching middle school
students. NMSA
visited our school twice in the past two years to document and
recognize the Best Practices and Middle School Philosophy that
Warsaw is all about.
Spring 2006 also brought the
New England
League of Middle Schools
(NELMS)
to our school in order to name Warsaw Middle School as a recipient
of a Spotlight
School Award.
This award recognizes that Warsaw Middle School educators focus on
the teaming structures, learning styles, advisory model, and school
climate that best meet the needs of young adolescents with the
template for assessing the school based on
This We Believe
and Turning
Points 2000.
It is a great honor to be so recognized, and we will be pursuing the
NELMS Spotlight Award again this year.
Our staff works hard to
provide educational opportunities that help each child reach his or
her potential. Smaller teams, looping, integrative units, student
choice, positive school climate, differentiated instruction, an
inclusive athletic program, allied arts programs that are hands-on
and developmentally focused, and an exemplary advisory system called
Fish Time all provide a supportive network for staff and
students and allow middle school staff to focus on the academic and
individual needs of our students.
Our teachers have presented
at national, regional, and state middle school conferences. Several
have received individual recognition for their work. Most
importantly, our school is united in our focus on best meeting the
needs of all of our middle level students. One of our teachers
serves on the NELMS and NMSA Boards.
Small Teams, our Fish
Time Groups, Looping, and Educators Committed to Young Adolescents
are the
backbone of Warsaw Middle School’s success. Our school also would
not be successful without the following important contributors to
our program:
Positive
School Climate:
Each day our teachers reinforce the four important aspects outlined
in the Fish Philosophy: Play, Make Their Day, Be There, and Choose
Your Attitude. The Fish Philosophy creates a positive approach to
our life at school for staff and students. Small teams, some looping
teams, and our Fish Time Advisory are designed to increase the adult
support for students in our school and maintain a positive attitude
for all students. We also have a civil rights team that meets weekly
throughout the year. More than twenty students are on the Warsaw
Civil Rights Team. In October 2007 the Center for Prevention of
Hate Violence (CPHV ) will work with our students in workshops and
an assembly on anti-bullying for all students and staff.
Exercise
Program:
In addition to our physical education classes, everyone in the
school participates in some form of aerobic activity for 25 minutes
twice a week. It would not be uncommon to see our students on an
exercise day “walking the block” around he school property or
dancing and exercising to music in the gym. This time helps develop
teacher / student rapport and improves the conditioning and
concentration level of our students. Assistant Principal Greg Kane
takes the lead in making this program work ,and all teachers and
students participate!
Allied Arts:
Our Allied Arts program provides our students with enrichment
courses that are supported by middle level research. These classes
help educate the whole child: visual arts, performing arts, physical
education, career preparation, music, computer, and foreign
language.
Supportive
Board and Community Involvement:
With the help of many people and community organizations, we have
been able to develop and implement many “extras” that add to the WMS
educational experience. Thanks to Cianbro Corp., Healthy Maine
Partnership and Sebasticook Valley Hospital, the Elk’s Club the
Masons, SAD #53 Sports Boosters, the PTO, and many others we have
been able to provide Warsaw Middle School with a number of
enrichment opportunities and special projects:
ØField
trips for white-water rafting and peer leadership
ØNewly
created fields and facilities to host baseball, softball, football,
field hockey, and soccer
ØA
walking path for school and community use
ØCareer
panels that educate our students
ØNew
blocking sled and goal posts for the football team, new watering
system for the fields
ØA
sports storage and refreshment building for our new athletic fields.
Community support is huge
at Warsaw Middle School!
What’s New Inside
for the 2007-2008 School Year?
We have new stair treads, many
walls repainted, bathroom renovations, a beautiful reconditioned gym
floor, and our “Book Room” that has been redesigned and all book
titles catalogued.
We have a new Literacy
Specialist who will work with teachers in Literacy, both reading and
writing. This Literacy focus will help our students continue to
improve in literacy skills.
Last word:
As Principal of Warsaw
Middle School, I am proud of what we have accomplished and excited
about where we are going.
WMS is a dynamic educational
institution located in a community that supports the mission of
educating its youth.
If you would like further
information about our school, please feel free to call the school at
(207) 487-5145.
We at Warsaw Middle School
believe that it is our job to work with our students so that they
are confident in who they are and how
they learn.
Sandy Nevens, Principal
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