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Mountain Shadows Middle School Programs

Mountain Shadows Middle School is committed to helping every student maximize his or her academic potential. By providing opportunities for students to receive a learning experience tailored to their abilities, Mountain Shadows Middle School helps instill confidence and a love of learning at an early age.

We offer a number of specialists and enrichment programs to help each student achieve to his or her highest potential:
  • A variety of resource specialists and speech therapists for students with specific learning needs
  • A school improvement program aimed at increasing the performance of every student
  • Enrichment programs for students seeking a more challenging academic environment

In order to provide the above, we have created smaller groupings of students called small learning communities or SLCs. There are two SLCs each in 7th (Explorers and Seekers)and two in 8th grade (DaVinci and Triumph), 6th grade level SLC, our Special Day Class SLC (Adventurers), and our specialized middle school program—Expeditionary Learning. Each SLC has its own name and identity all which provides students a place to belong and makes the middle school experience more personalized. In the 7th and 8th grade SLCs, there are 120 students with four core teachers. This helps students and parents create a strong connection with the teachers. MSMS teachers are extremely caring and knowledgeable and are willing to help you and your child to have a successful time at MSMS.

 

The MSMS staff is committed to providing a safe and supportive environment that promotes student learning and achievement. We offer reading and math intervention support during the school day. We have two READ 180 classrooms and a full lab as well as a mini-lab for our iPASS math program.  These programs extend student learning during the intervention support classes that are in addition to the students’ regular English and Math classes. Students in our intervention support classes have shown strong academic progress. In addition to our intervention support classes, the District provides MSMS with four leveled English Language Development classes along with three sheltered English classes.

 

MSMS staff has undertaken the challenged to implement school–wide the following instructional strategies:

·         Thinking Maps, Organizing Student Thinking, ( a graphic organizer approach to learning)

·         Active Student Engagement

·         Academic Vocabulary

·         Teaching behavior expectations using the B.E.S.T. model of Be Safe, Be Responsible and Be Respectful

 

In addition to the school-wide instructional strategies, MSMS has implemented the MSMS Honor Program. This program is part of our BEST program and recognizes students for a variety of accomplishments. Every quarter we have a minimum day complete with grade level assemblies, student activities, and community service. Each quarter, over 72% of the student body is recognized and given a certificate and can chose to receive a badge specific to the award. Students can purchase a stole to sew the badges on and wear on special occasions such as Honor Days and Promotion.

MSMS is proud to have the Expeditionary Learning Program as part of our school. Expeditionary Learning, ExL, is a program for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students at Mountain Shadows Middle School. The program was implemented in the 1994-1995 school year. It is based on the principle that students of all ages, learning styles, and ability levels, not only can learn, but want to learn. ExL is designed to provide a powerful learning environment through the use of integrated thematic study units, reinforced by real-life excursions and hands-on projects. This combination captures students’ natural passion to learn and develops curiosity, skills, knowledge, and courage needed in today’s world.

Expeditions are structured to challenge students to extend their learning beyond textbooks, to the world around them. They learn to work as part of a team, sharing decision-making, problem-solving, and acquiring time-management skills and organization for long and short expeditions. This truly is the ultimate authentic assessment. As part of their varied and comprehensive learning program, students work on student designed cooperative projects as well as individual assignments. Parental support and interest are essential components to any child’s school success. In ExL, parental participation is expected. Parents can support ExL by attending monthly parent meetings, being an expedition chaperone, help with the on-going fundraising that supports the expeditions, and volunteering in the classroom. There is a student application process every spring for the following school year.

Our students benefit from our award-winning Write to the Point monthly assessment and our annual MSMS Writing

Contest. In math, students can exhibit confidence and expertise by participating in Math Counts and other math

Competitions. We have a strong elective program and offer intermediate and advanced Band, Spanish, Technology

Education (Shop), Home Arts (Cooking and sewing), Art and Computers. In addition, our sixth grade team takes students on a variety of field trips to introduce the students to the world around them. In the Spring, we have our Outdoor Education Week where most students attend Outdoor Ed at Alliance Redwoods while other students take advantage of the weeklong Rainforest Adventure. We believe in helping the “whole child” grow and achieve both academically and personally.To learn more about any of our programs, please click on the links located to your left.

We welcome feedback on any of our programs. Please contact us if you have questions, comments or suggestions on how we could better help your child.




Phone Numbers

Phone: 707-792-4800 | Fax: 707-792-4516